London, Underground
by CrystalBalloon
Summary: Seven years after solving the Labyrinth, Sarah is living in London trying to make it as an actress. On the day of her 21st birthday, the Goblin King comes back into her life. Now that Sarah is an adult, he's not going to let her get away again with the offer of a mysterious key and answers to her past that no one else can give her. How far is Sarah willing to go?
1. Chapter 1: Girl, You'll be a woman soon

Author's note: This is my very first time writing fan fiction. I have a really stressful life and writing this has proved weirdly relaxing. Currently rated K, moving on will be M. Things are going to get smutty. What can I say, everyone needs a hobby. Thanks for the comments, could the next person to comment please let me know if paragraph spaces are showing now?

Sarah looked away from the computer screen for a few minutes, stretched and yawned. She'd pressed the button that took her off calls for a few minutes, but it wouldn't last long. These breaks were timed. In a few more moments, she'd have to log herself back in and start taking calls again, or that god awful supervisor of hers would be at her desk asking her what was up.

My goodness I hate that woman, she thought. But this would only be temporary. London was an expensive city, and she'd only be doing this to pay the bills until her acting was steady enough to pay the bills. She was already rehearsing for a part in Othello, and tomorrow evening she had an audition for the lead role in a rendition of A Streetcar Named Desire.

She thought briefly of the path that had led her here. After that night seven years ago, everything had changed. When her parents had come home at half past midnight, apologising, she'd surprised them by falling into their arms, sobbing. "I'm so sorry!" she'd wept, and her stepmother had tried to comfort her. "Sarah, what is it? Tell us what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just sorry for how I behaved. Can't we start over?" she'd asked. Her father had been thrilled. This is what he'd been trying for all this time, and now overnight it seemed to have fallen into his lap.

Since that night, she'd made a dedicated effort to get along better with her stepmother and discovered that she wasn't so bad after all. She'd clung to her that night, crying from her tiredness, crying over the fact that it wasn't her mother holding her, and most of all crying from the ache in her heart.

She'd been no more than a child then, and she hadn't understood the pain she felt, mixed with relief. On the one hand she had never felt more relieved than when she beat the Labyrinth and the Goblin King. Despite the magnetic draw the Labyrinth had held over her, rescuing her brother was something she'd never regretted.

But meeting the Jareth had changed her forever. In the hours spent in the Labyrinth, he had tormented and tricked her at every turn. He had been cruel, and he had been persistent. Despite her youth, Sarah had sensed however that he had met her as an equal. It wasn't until days later, when she was able to think straight again, that she'd recalled the words he had said to her.

_Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave._

Why had he said that? Why that determination to keep her in the Labyrinth. At first she thought that Toby must have been an exceptional child, a child so special that the Goblin King simply couldn't let him go.

It wasn't until she'd grown into a woman that the truth had dawned on her. In the hours spent solving the Labyrinth, she had solved one puzzle but trapped herself in another. No matter how hard she tried, the Goblin King's memory had embedded itself like a splinter deep into her soul. She'd wept that night, almost broken hearted, because she had come so close to what she wanted, but had been too young to realise it. Her heart until then filled with movie star crushes and characters from novels had no idea what to do with the wave of emotions crashing around her then.

It was when she became a woman that she realised finally that the Goblin King had been her nemesis, and her first love. At every turn in her heart from that day until now, he was still there. Sometimes, she swore she still felt his eyes watching her.

"Sarah!" Sarah jumped as she turned to see her supervisor standing to her left. She must have lost track of time, she thought. Again. "I'm sorry, did I go over time again?" she asked with an apologetic smile. "Breaks are five minutes, Sarah." said her supervisor, Amanda, waggling her finger with a fake smile plastered across her face. "You've been off calls for seven minutes and thirty three seconds." she trilled in that irritating voice of hers. "And that's not the first time it's happened."

"I'll be more careful." Sarah smiled. Amanda nodded towards her headset. "Chop chop!" she said, smiling brightly before walking off to her next victim. Sarah's shoulders slumped. Awful woman. She pressed the button and before long, she heard a familiar beep in her ear. "Phoenix computers, Sarah speaking, how can I help?"

At 5:30 pm, Sarah gratefully took herself off her last call, tidied her desk and left to catch the tube home. What a day, she thought. A light drizzle had begun to fall as she made her way through the rush hour crowds to the grubby, packed carriages of London's underground. A mother stood chatting to her son. No one offered them a seat. Sarah held on to the yellow bar overhead and found herself wondering what Toby would be doing right now.

It would be afternoon in Connecticut, and he'd probably be on his lunchbreak at school. Then he'd take that big yellow school bus back home to his mom, Sarah's stepmom. It all seemed so far away. Coming to London immediately after college had been something she had thought long and hard about. She knew no one in the city, but being here somehow made her feel closer to her own mother, the woman she'd never met, who she could barely get her father to talk about, except when it was already far too late.

After he'd died a year ago, she'd been inconsolable. One day merged into the next as she sat in her room crying, trying desperately to figure out what he had meant. "I need to talk to you about your mother" he'd said the last time she'd visited him in hospital, but seeing his agitation, the doctors had urged Sarah out of the room.

At the funeral, no one had known what he meant. Hardly anyone had even met Sarah's mother. They knew very little of her beyond the small details her own father had told her in drips and drabs. She was flighty, she'd lived in London and before that no one knew where, she was exceptionally talented, she'd vanished without a trace. No explanation even.

What had bothered her the most though was that in her grief, no matter whose arms it was she sat and cried in, there was only one person she could think of who would have lessened her pain just by being there. Tormented by these thoughts, and unable to bear being back in her childhood room any more, the decision to move to London suddenly didn't seem so outlandish. Maybe she'd finally be free of her thoughts of _him,_ she reasoned.

The mother and child disembarked and Sarah realised the next stop was hers. Pushing her way through the crowds, she made it to the exit and took deep breaths of the cold air. She turned left out of the station, the orange street lights dancing off the wet pavements by now, and started the 20 minute walk to her small studio flat.

On the way, she stopped to pick up a few supplies. No one had told her just how expensive London was, she thought, sighing. _Now what was it I needed? _she wondered. She threw some milk and a packet of cheese into her basket, and then ducked into the toiletries section. Seeing that they were on offer, she threw a few packets on sanitary towels into her basket.

_Great _ she mused _Tomorrow I turn 21, and the highlight of my week is finding sanitary towels on special offer. _

Back at her apartment, she dropped the shopping by her feet and immediately went to turn the heating up. These little British houses were so damn cold. She could never get used to it, even though she'd been here a year already. She put her shopping away and opened the fridge to see what to eat for dinner. The rain was really coming down now, and it was making her feel restless. Whenever it rained like this, it reminded her of the night she'd wished Toby away, the icy coldness that had ran through her when she realised he wasn't in his cot any more, the fear mixed with exhilaration as the Goblin King had stood before her.

Since coming to London, she'd made a couple of close friends, but it had been difficult. Making friends had never been that easy for Sarah. There had always been something about her that people couldn't quite put their finger on. Strangely enough, the entire time throughout her whole childhood and teenage years when she'd felt completely at home was the 13 hours she'd spent lost in the Labyrinth.

She rummaged through the cupboard and set out a plate, fork and glass. Not a single piece of cutlery matched, all relics left behind by the many people that had passed through here. She snorted. She'd left the Labyrinth only to find herself back in a modern oubliette seven years later. This place was so small that she could touch both walls at the same time if she stretched out.

Lightning cracked in the sky, making Sarah glance up from the stove. The rain began beating heavily against the kitchen's window pane, and a strange sensation spread through her body as she heated the pasta sauce she'd made the night before. It was that feeling again, that feeling of being watched. Another spear of lightning pierced the sky. Sarah stared at the rain, mesmerised.

Lightening lit up the sky again and Sarah felt her stomach lurch. In the split second that the electricity flashing through the inky dark had turned everything bone white, she could have sworn she'd seen a white owl sitting outside her window, looking straight at her. She was certain of it, but now that the eery orange of the streetlights had returned, there was nothing there.

She backed away from the stove and grabbed her phone, dialing her friend Rosa's number as quickly as she could. She needed to talk to someone, and she knew Rosa only lived one tube stop away.

"Rosa? Hey, it's Sarah." she said.

"Sarah! What's up gorgeous? Are you ready for that audition tomorrow?"

Sarah could picture Rosa curled on her couch, red hair spilling over the back as she drew on a cigarette.

"I, um."

"Is everything alright, chick?"

"Well, look, I'm safe, nothing bad's happened. I'm just feeling a bit weirded out. Are you doing anything tonight? Can you come over?"

"Bloody hell, you want me to come out in this weather? Alright, but you owe me girl!" chuckled Rosa. "I'll be there in a bit."

Thank God for Rosa, thought Sarah. She drew the curtains and waited.

Many hours later, when Rosa had left, Sarah sat up in bed with a start. The rain had stopped, and somewhere in the distance, she was sure she heard a bell chime. How come she'd never heard that before? She sat up in bed, listening and counting. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. "Happy birthday, Sarah" she whispered to herself. Thirteen. Wait a second. Thirteen chimes? That couldn't be. She shook her head. _I'm dreaming. I'm just tired. I had too much wine with Rosa. I counted wrong._ She lay back in bed, squeezing her eyes shut.

The next morning, Sarah was woken up by her phone ringing. She grabbed it, half falling out of bed. "Phoenix computers, Sarah speaking" she mumbled. "Happy birthday Saraaaah!" Sang the voices on the other end. It was Toby and her stepmother. Sarah smiled. What a great way to wake up on your birthday. She decided it would be a good day.

On the way to work, squeezed once more against her fellow passengers, she was pushed up against a couple. They were obviously very in love, and very into each other. The girl was whispering in the boy's ear, but pushed so close together, Sarah could hear everything.

"And then, I want you to push me down on the bed and…" she described in lurid detail what she wanted her boyfriend to do to her, and Sarah felt herself blushing.

She wasn't a prude, she'd had her share of experience, but the fact remained that she was still a virgin, not through lack of trying. From her own self discovery of the things her body could do, to fooling around with various boyfriends, she'd come close, but something always went wrong. Once, just as things were about to get started, someone who had the wrong address began banging on the door and shouting obscenities. Another time, a leak in the apartment above had collapsed through the ceiling at the crucial moment. But by far the strangest thing of all had been the time she'd stared up her boyfriend's face, eyes clouded with desire, readying herself for him to enter her. Eyes half closed, she'd stared up and seen the smirking face of Jareth looking back.

She'd screamed, leapt off the sofa and terrified her boyfriend in the process. "Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?" The poor guy had felt terrible, he'd become convinced some awful memory from the past, some sort of abuse had resurfaced, and when Sarah wouldn't tell him what had happened, he'd grown angry and left. Sarah had kicked the door in fury and screamed "Why can't you just leave me alone! Get out of my head! You're not real!"

Another day, another round of calls and timed breaks. Today was particularly rough. So many irate customers had called in. This really was a terrible company, and Sarah could do nothing but stick to her call script. What she really wanted to say was yeah, this company sucks. I wouldn't buy a computer from them either if I were you. But she knew if she did that, she'd get fired. Nothing could deviate from the script.

The day rolled torturously by, and at 5.25pm, Sarah had just taken what she hoped would be her last call when her headset beeped again and she groaned.

"Phoenix computers, Sarah speaking, how may I help?" she said automatically, forcing a bit of cheer into her weary voice.

"Hello Sarah." the voice drawled on the other end.

Sarah froze. Her eyes widened and her heart started pounding. The room seemed to be spinning. The air around her turned liquid and it felt like time had suddenly stopped. _It's him _she thought. _This is crazy! This isn't real!_

"Happy birthday" the voice said.

"I...is this.. who is this?" Sarah was way off script, but her hands were sweating, and she didn't dare believe what was going on. She looked around her. Other staff members were chatting into their headsets, one of them who was expecting a baby any day now was running through sales options with a customer while knitting a blue baby blanket. Someone else laughed loudly near the kitchen. Someone would surely notice the state she was getting into. Her face was burning. This just couldn't be.

"What's the matter, Sarah? Aren't you going to say hello to your old friend Jareth?"


	2. Chapter 2: Destiny Calling

Author's note: This chapter has been rated M in advance for some adult innuendo that follows. You have been warned! It also refers to Camden in London, and Gilgamesh, a high-end restaurant in the borough which really is full of dark corners and exotic vibes. If naming real life places is against the rules, please let me know (I'm new to this! :) )

Sarah sat shaking at her desk. Her heart was beating so far and so loud she was sure any minute now either it would explode or someone would hear it and walk over to her. She looked around wildly.

"Well, Sarah? Not even a hello after all this time?" said the voice.

Her mouth was dry. _Come on, say something Sarah!_ she willed herself. At lightening speed, her mind ran through a number of possibilities. There was no one she had ever told about the Labyrinth, but there were surely people who knew of the Goblin King. Perhaps along the way she'd let it slip to some friend, someone who thought this was all hilarious. But then who could have got his voice so absolutely right?

_Sarah for god's sake, speak!_

"This isn't funny, whoever this is." she hissed into her headset.

Jareth laughed, that same bellowing laugh that had infuriated her seven years ago and sent shivers down her spine.

"Do you really think I'd wait all this time just for a joke, Sarah?" he chided.

Sarah pushed her chair back and stood up slowly. She looked around. All around her people were engaged in calls. Not one person was looking in her direction. Some of the staff had started packing up their things, and she noticed the night shift staff members starting to arrive at their desks. Everything around her was as it should be. Except for this call.

"Who is this?" she said, her voice barely a whisper. How much trouble was she going to get into for this? No one was allowed to take personal calls on the job. And how had he come through straight to her? It didn't work that way.

"You know very well who this is Sarah." said Jareth.

Sarah clamped her hands over her eyes. She was desperate to get off the call, and desperate to keep on listening. It was impossible, but she caught herself thinking _I wish it was you. But it isn't. It can't be. You're not real._

She sat up straighter in her chair and hit the call terminate button. They were almost never allowed to do that, and she knew within seconds Amanda would be hovering over her mind. She'd find some way to explain.

"Now now Sarah, did you really think you'd get rid of me that easily?" said Jareth. Sarah felt her heart plummet. She jabbed the call terminate button again and again.

"How are you doing this? What trick is this?" she asked, her voice starting to quiver.

She heard him sigh on the other end. "This? This is nothing. You of all people should know that. Playing tricks on the mortal world is a simple matter for me. Or to use your own words," he paused, and Sarah could hear the smile in his voice "a piece of cake."

She stared at her screen, absolutely still. He wasn't going to get the better of her. She straightened up and pushed her chin out defiantely.

"I don't believe you. You're not … him."

"Who am I not?" Jareth said. He was toying with her, she could sense it.

_Oh god_, she thought, he was going to make her say it. And if someone overheard her they'd think she'd really lost her mind.

She brought the headset's mic as close to her lips as possible. "You're not the Goblin King." she said finally, her voice barely audible.

"Oh, am I not?" Jareth feigned doubt on the other end of the line. "Then how could I do this?"

Just then a shriek came from a few desks away. Sarah swung around to see what was going on, as others around her stopped their calls to investigate too.

There was Amanda, arms flailing as she tried to brush off dozens of cockroaches from her pristine peach coloured business suit. She was hopping around as the creatures seemed to drop in a constant stream from the roof tile above her. A small circle of staff had formed around her, some trying to help her, others just watching, dumbfounded.

Jareth roared with laughter on the other end, and Sarah couldn't help but giggle.

"She torments you, does she not?" he asked airily.

Sarah shook her head. "Coincidence. This is London, there are cockroaches everywhere."

"So you demand further proof?" sighed Jareth.

"Do your worst" Sarah dared.

"Then you must meet me." said Jareth. "I have waited seven years for this day. Meet me this evening, and I will give you all the proof you need."

"No way!" Sarah snorted. "I don't even know if this is really you. And I have plans for tonight, it's my birthday and I'm doing things. With real people, people who care about me." she said. She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. No sooner had she said this than her cell phone began vibrating off the table.

"I'm afraid your plans for tonight have been cancelled." said the Goblin King, the mocking apparent in his voice.

Sarah grabbed her phone. Message after message said the same thing, sorry about tonight, something's come up, I'll make it up to you. Everyone had backed out of the birthday drinks she'd planned. Even tonight's audition was no longer going ahead. Sarah felt the anger rise inside her.

"You _jerk!_ Do you know how long I've been rehearsing for that audition?" she hissed.

"It can wait. But I will not be kept waiting. You will come to see me tonight." said Jareth.

"Still so arrogant. What do you care if we meet or not? Where would I even know to find you? And after everything you did, do you really think I'd come to meet you alone?" Sarah spoke rapidly and almost at her normal volume now. For seven years this man had held control over her heart, and now he was interfering with her life, her plans. Did he honestly think she'd want to meet him after all that?

"You vanish after torturing me, and you turn up after seven years with the sole purpose of ruining my 21st birthday. Human years might not mean much to you, but in this world, turning 21 is very special. How were you even so sure that I'd even remember you after seven years?" asked Sarah. There. That should really provoke him, she thought.

"Ah Sarah," Jareth sounded genuinely stung. "I have spent the last seven years thinking about you, a mere mortal. And here you are asking me, a King of the Underground how I can be so sure that _you_ still remember _me_? And you assume so quickly that I would ruin this little celebration of yours."

"So go ahead, where are you planning to meet me? And how? You're from the Underground. This is London. You won't survive a second on this city's streets." said Sarah. She was desperately trying to sound uninterested, but she wondered if the edge in her voice gave her away.

"Actually, Sarah, you forget that London is an old city, and I know it very well. You think I won't survive a minute on these streets, and strangely enough those were my very thoughts when I saw you emerge onto this city's streets."

_He's been watching me? For how long?_ wondered Sarah. That would explain her constant feeling of being watched.

"I know this city like the back of my hand," he continued "And I am also very well known in certain parts of this city, pockets you might say, where people from the Underground are made welcome."

"You want me to believe that people from the Underground walk the streets of London." Sarah asked, bemused.

"They do. Surely you've been to Camden." said Jareth. Sarah tried hard to suppress the laugh in her belly. So she thought, he has a sense of humour.

"There is a place in Camden, named after an ancient king, a great leader of Babylon. You will meet me there." said Jareth.

"Gilgamesh." Sarah snorted.

"The very same. At eight o'clock I will await you there and I will answer all your questions."

"Well, you can forget it. I'm not coming."

"Oh Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. So defiant still. You say that now, but the time will come when you will be begging me to come."

Sarah's face burned bright red at Jareth's innuendo. He laughed deeply for several moments. She felt her eyes start to blaze with embarrassment. He'd walked her right into his trap. She felt like a fool, and all of a sudden she could think of nothing more to say.

"And I know you will be there tonight. You are too curious not too come. That's what intrigued me about you. Your childlike curiosity has always stayed with you."

Sarah looked down at her hands, mute.

"Do you fear me, Sarah?" asked the Goblin King.

Yes. "No." said Sarah defiantly, shaking her brown hair from side to side.

"Liar" sneered Jareth.

"I will be waiting for you tonight, and don't worry," said Jareth "I will do you no harm. You have my word. Till then, Sarah." and with a loud click, the line went dead.

Sarah sat listening to the call tone in her headset for a few moments before her mind kicked into gear. She ripped off her headset, jumped from her seat and ran over to the call log department.

Jamie, the IT guy who took care of the log was at his desk, eating a peach. "Hey Jamie, can you do me a favour?" Sarah asked. Jamie looked up through his glasses, munching "Sure, what can I do for our future stage star?"

Sarah smiled. Jamie was so sweet to her. "I just got off a call. Can you pull it up for me? I want to listen to it again. I missed the customer's address and I want to get it down." she said.

Jamie moved his mouse around and clicked it a few times.

"You took a call just now?" he asked.

"Yes. It came through at exactly 5.25."

"Are you sure?" asked Jamie "Because there's no calls in your log after 5.12 today."

"Really? Um, can you check again? Is that today's log?"

Jamie shrugged and scrolled through the calls, taking another bite of the peach.

"Yup, it's for today, and nope. No call at 5.25."

Sarah thought for a moment. "Could a call have come through that didn't get recorded by the system?"

"Not likely" said Jamie.

Sarah's shoulders sagged, deflated, and she groaned. There was only one way this was possible, and that prospect both terrified and exhilarated her.

"Don't worry too much about it. It was just one call." said Jamie.

"Thanks Jamie." said Sarah as she walked back to her desk. She collected her things and headed to the door, glancing back over her shoulder to see Amanda in her office raging down the telephone at some poor soul about the building's cockroach infestation.

Stepping through the glass doors, Sarah had never felt more grateful to be out in the cold, damp London air.

Her journey on the underground passed in a blur, and before she knew it she was pushing her key into the door of her flat. Inside, she tore off all her clothes in a fit of anger and got into the shower. Audition cancelled, birthday celebrations cancelled, all because a fairy creature wanted to play games with her. She stood under the blast of hot water, allowing it to calm her nerves.

What did he want? Was he trying to drive her to the edge of insanity just to prove a point? She wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom. She sat still for a few moments, before looking at the clothes she'd laid out for the evening's celebration. An emerald green dress that reached the floor, cut deep at the neck, large gold earrings and a selection from the many bangles and bracelets she'd accumulated over the years.

For a moment she thought of wearing something else. _If I turn up wearing that, he might get the wrong idea_, but she quickly dismissed the thought with a shake of her head. This was her birthday. She'd bought that dress weeks ago especially for today. And she was going to wear it. If Jareth thought it was for him, that was his problem, not hers. She would make herself look absolutely breathtaking. Two can play this game, she thought with a smile.

Jareth sat for a few moments looking at the crystal ball he held in his hand, smiling to himself. For seven years, he had waited for this very day to talk once more to the only woman who had faced him as an equal.

When Sarah had wished her brother away, she wasn't aware that the Goblin King had already been watching her for several months. He had been biding his time, waiting for circumstances to line up exactly as he wanted in order to step into the young girl's life.

Sarah's presence in the Labyrinth had presented him with a great dilemma. Never had he been defied the way she had defied him. The girl had been as fearless as any knight he had come across.

He had been sure she would not solve the Labyrinth in time, and had planned to retain her close to his castle until she came of age. For although human years meant little in the Underground, the Goblin King would not have harmed her. She was barely more than a child, and morality spins along the same lines in the Underground as it does Aboveground.

There is no fun in hunting trapped prey and so when she had solved his Labyrinth, he had stood by his word and let her go. For months afterward, he had been in a foul mood, and the goblins had paid for it. They learnt to be cautious around him and not provoke his wrath. He spent all his time staring into the crystal ball, watching Sarah, and it had pained him that since that day, she had never once uttered his name again.

Sarah had captivated him. No one had ever managed to solve his Labyrinth, and as she had drawn closer to the Goblin City, he had started making things up, new obstacles to slow her down. Later he had mulled over her victory and found her to be more formidable than he was. He had used magic. She had run the Labyrinth with nothing more than her wits and ability to win people over.

She had entered and left, unconquered. The thought was unbearable to him. Women from the Underground had fallen in and out of his bed with ease, but it was too easy. There was no challenge in it, no thrill. They fawned over him for his status as King, but they offered nothing interesting to say. They would spend hours perfecting their appearance, but all had laughed at his suggestion to read a book.

"My King" his closest advisor had eventually said, gently trying to broach the subject. "Goblin City is short of supplies. Bread is hard to find. I have received word that two separate enemy villages are planning an attack. What troubles my King?"

Jareth had sat staring out of his castle's window "A mortal woman. No, a mortal girl." he had confided. "She may have to live by my laws while here, but you know as well as I do that I could not harm a woman-child."

"Then, great King, you must wait." said his advisor. "Time passes quickly in the mortal world. Their age of maturity is 21. That's only seven autumns from now."

Jareth had nodded. Seven autumns. It didn't seem so long. It would give him time to see how his adversary grew with time.

But he was nothing if not patient. And now Sarah was back within his grasp. He sat back on his throne, grinning. Oh how he enjoyed games. And this game was going to be very, very enjoyable.

Sarah stood outside Gilgamesh, wondering if she really was going to go in. N_ow's the time,_ she thought to herself, _turn back now or there's no going back._

She pulled her navy floor-length coat closer around herself, bangles clattering as she did so.

_What are you scared of Sarah? A figment of your imagination? Just go in there!_ she commanded. The clicking her black high heeled boots made on the stone pavement seemed to be coming from far away as she strode decisively towards the door.

Inside, the walls were covered with ornate carvings and rich tapestries. She walked a few more paces, taking it in. Dark shadows sat in every corner, pouring down the walls intercepted with light.

A young woman with thick rimmed glasses was looking down at the reservations book when Sarah approached. "Um, excuse me, this might seem a little strange but.."

"Come with me" the woman said without looking up. She spun on her heel and started walking into the venue at a brisk pace. Sarah quickly started to follow. How did she know what she wanted to ask? This day was getting stranger and stranger. The woman ahead walked wordlessly and without looking to see if Sarah was following. When she reached what seemed to be the back of the place, she pushed aside a heavy black tapestry and kept walking.

After a few more paces, she slowed down, stepped aside and pulled back a final curtain. Sarah stepped through hesitantly, and looked around. The walls were deep red and covered with gilded frames. All were empty except for one containing a large mirror.

A low copper topped table sat to one side with candles and velvety red rose petals covering its surface and a large, soft looking chair was placed almost in the centre of the room. Other than the candles, a softly glowing lantern overhead provided the only other source of light, bathing the room in a gentle orange colour.

"I'm sorry, we must have the wrong room" said Sarah, spinning around, but the woman was long gone. She walked over to the chair and ran her hand over the velvet fabric. Strains of oriental music filled the air. She liked this sort of music. From the tiniest bits of information she had gathered, she knew her mother was half-Moroccan. That had been why Sarah had taken up oriental dancing as a hobby. The music, the veils, the gold coin belts, all of it felt familiar to her.

She took off her coat and hooked it over one arm, her back turned to the room's entrance. She was trying to place the scent in the room, somewhere between jasmine and sandalwood when a voice behind her made her jump.

"Hello Sarah." said Jareth.

Sarah stood still, heart pounding. Seven years. Seven years had passed since she had last seen him. She hesitated as she tried to steady her breathing.

Slowly, she began to turn around, her eyes on the floor, until her body faced him.

"Well, well, well. What a fine woman you have grown into." said Jareth. Sarah stood rooted to the spot. Jareth walked up to her slowly, his boots striking the ground with a dull thud at each step, his cape rustling behind him. Sarah truly had blossomed into a beautiful woman. Every trace of childishness was gone from her face. She was a little taller than he remembered, and her brown hair tumbled in gentle waves around her shoulders.

He was enjoying looking at her immensely, when he realised she wasn't looking at him. This was interesting. He'd have to provoke her, but do it wrong and she'd simply walk out of there without another glance.

"So. You fear me so much that you would not dare to look at me. This pleases me." teased Jareth, and immediately Sarah's eyes flew up defiantly and here he was, after all this time.

His blond hair, the arched eyebrows, one hand resting on his hip, the other on a crystal-topped swagger stick, dressed as flamboyantly as always. A silver medallion glinted in the deep V of his shirt against the skin of his chest.

In spite of herself, Sarah's mouth fell open. He was so much more beautiful than she had remembered. The last time they had stood face to face, her mind was entirely on her little brother.

This time, there were no distractions.

"Hello, Sarah" he said again, smiling at her. "You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this."


	3. Chapter 3: I put a spell on you

Author's note: Jareth in this chapter is a little serious and playful at the same time. Don't get the impression that he's turned into a Romeo and will be on best behaviour from now on. There will be games, pranks and more.

I got the idea for this chapter while listening to Natacha Atlas' rendition of _I put a spell on you. _I highly recommend you have it playing in the background while you read this, especially where i have put in as asterisk. Through this song, I am trying to get Jareth to understand his feelings for Sarah, his frustration at her knockbacks.

And yes, I was in my mid 20s when I acknowledged that it wasn't likely I'd need to wear all that costume jewellery to bribe goblins. Hope you enjoy, and please leave a comment, positive or negative!

The lights and the shadows seemed to dance around them as Sarah stared up at the Goblin King. _My god he looks so good! _ Sarah caught herself thinking. The blonde hair was shorter now, and less flamboyant. But it was still long, and it still looked incredible. She still had to fight the urge to reach out and touch it. She realised with a start how homesick she must be. Seeing a familiar face, even one that had been an adversary, suddenly made her pine for her home.

"Well, Sarah? Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked, smirking. He was stood with his arms crossed across his chest, and the candlelight glinted off his medallion.

Sarah shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking up at the Goblin King.

"You, so you're just walking around London looking like _that?" _ she blurted out finally. The Goblin King threw his head back and laughed.

"Seven years and that's all you can think of saying? This is London. No one bats an eyelid when they see little old me walking around like this. Well, except maybe a certain young woman from my past." he said with a mischievous grin.

_Come on, snap out of it. Stop staring at him! He's not that good looking any way. _Sarah coaxed herself. She should say something smart, something cool.

"So," she said, throwing her arms out "Why are you here? Gilgamesh huh? It's not exactly within my budget, so don't expect me to pay!"

"Now is that any way to greet an old friend?" asked Jareth as he swaggered over to the only chair in the room and sat himself down to face Sarah.

She rolled her eyes. _Typical_ she thought. "I wouldn't dream of asking you to pay. Your mortal money would be no good in this part of the establishment any way."

"Don't leave anywhere for me to sit then." she said angrily.

"Who said there's nowhere for you to sit?" said Jareth, patting his knee. Sarah looked at him, defiance shining in her eyes. "Not a chance! Now tell me why are you here!"

"Ah Sarah. Do you really need me to spell it out? I'm here because I have unfinished business with you. Even you know that. A more interesting question would be to ask," he swept up from his chair and paced towards her "why are _you_ here."

Sarah's eyes widened. "Why am _I _here? You invited me, that's why!"

Jareth paced until he was stood just inches behind her, shaking his head as he spoke. "I don't mean why you're here with me tonight, we both know the answer to that" Sarah started to protest, but the Goblin King quickly cut her off. "I mean why are you in London? Let's start with that, shall we?"

"So what, you want an account of my life now? I can go where I please, and I choose to come here. To this city. Because I chose to come here. That's why." _Argh! Stop babbling and make some sense you idiot!_

"Hmm" said Jareth "Well let's think about it a little."

He was stood so close behind her she could smell him and feel the heat from his body melt into her back. She watched him the reflection of the only mirror on the wall.

"Seven years ago you left my Labyrinth, and I won't lie. It was, shall we say, a difficult time for me." said Jareth. "But I have a little feeling that the Labyrinth never left you. You've never felt as at home anywhere as you did in my Labyrinth, and so you seek it out again. You have since come here to this old city, a Kingdom might I remind you."

"That doesn't have anything to do with anything!" Sarah protested.

"A Kingdom," Jareth repeated "Tell me Sarah, how do you get to your horrid little job and your horrid little flat each day?"

"If you've come here to insult my life, I'm leaving!" Sarah said, moving to put her coat on.

Jareth laughed again "Alright, alright, I promise to behave. Why don't you sit down?"

"For your information I'm very proud of my life."

The Goblin King held his chin as he regarded her, then nodded slightly. "Yes. And so you should be. It's a gift of yours to find your feet wherever you go. A rare talent. Please, sit." he said, gesturing towards the chair.

Sarah looked at him, hesitating. She'd already come this far. She might as well hear what else he had to say. She walked over to the large chair - why did it suddenly feel so far away? - and gingerly lowered herself down, keeping her eyes on the Goblin King the whole time.

"So? How is it that you get to and fro?" the familiar playful tone crept back into his voice.

"I take the Underground."

Jareth smiled broadly. "So you came to a Kingdom, and every day you visit the Underground. Do you think that's mere coincidence?"

"Of course it is!" retorted Sarah.

"And what about all these lovely little things you're wearing?" he swiftly ran the end of his swagger stick along the bangles and bracelets on Sarah's arms, slowing down to trace a line along her collarbone up to her ear.

_Breathe!_

"What's your point?"

"You wear these because you know how attractive they are to goblins. And might I add, to Goblin Kings" he murmured. "You wear them because you don't know when you might next need to bribe someone from the Underground, and you don't want to be caught out."

_How did he know! Okay, focus Sarah. Ask him something back. _

"Are you going to tell me why _you're_ here now, or are we going to continue this silly little dance all night?" she asked.

Jareth suddenly kneeled down in front of her, his face so close she could feel his breath on her lips. His eyes bore into hers before a sly smile spread over his face. "Oh, I _could _dance with you all night. And more. By the way, do you realise a bit of British has crept into your accent? It's very becoming."

"Just answer the question."

"Very well." said the Goblin King, standing up. "I am here for two reasons. First of all, do you remember the Goblin City?"

"Not that well."

"How could you. You were too busy looking at me. Don't protest. Then you won't remember what that place looked like, what it smelt like. It smells like, like" Jareth put his hands on his hips, searching for the right comparison "Chicken shit and rainbows" he said, spitting the words out in disgust.

"Rainbows don't smell of anything."

"And how would _you_ know that? Stop interrupting me" Jareth commanded, frowning. "From time to time even I need a break from all that mess, the smell and the chaos. Goblins are a near impossible race to govern. The noise they make, you would not believe it. So I take little trips to Aboveground. It's nice to have a change of scene. And the scene right now might I add is very pleasing to me," he grinned, running his eyes up and down her body. Sarah quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "That's the first reason. How nice of you to dress up for me by the way. You look glorious."

"It's not for you. So what's the second?" said, digging her hands into her armpits. .

"Close your eyes."

Sarah flinched and looked at Jareth. She felt herself turning red when she realised his crotch was exactly at her eye level. At least he wasn't wearing those super tight trousers any more.

"Oh come, come now Sarah. Didn't I tell you I wouldn't hurt you? If I wanted to ravish you believe me I could have done it a long time ago and with a lot less trouble than this." snapped Jareth, faking sternness. "Close your eyes."

Reluctantly, Sarah closed her eyes and let her back sink into the chair. A strange, heavy music began to play*. It seemed louder than before. She could feel the Goblin King pacing around her as he spoke, his boots thudding heavily with each step.

"Sarah. I am a powerful king. I have fought wars, and conquered adversaries. I have lived many, many years. But I have never, _ever_ had someone beat my Labyrinth."

Sarah kept her eyes closed and frowned.

"So you want me back in the Labyrinth. You want to conquer me, is that it?" she asked.

"No. You must understand that for someone like me, meeting your match presents a real problem. Especially when your match is still so young."

"And so you deliberately waited until you could take me on as your equal." said Sarah with a snort.

"Goodness, you do talk. Still got that mouth of yours I see. I like that. Sarah the point I am trying to make, and I suppose not all too well is this,"

The music seemed to vibrate around the room now and envelope both of them in its embrace. Sarah started to feel her breath quicken, her mind began to turn foggy as she raced through the possibilities of what he was trying to tell her.

She felt him stop pacing and stand directly behind her. His boots strained as he crouched near her ear.

"Sarah, the second reason I am here is you."

The singer began to beseech in impassioned tones, and it was only now that Sarah noticed the words. _I put a spell on you, because you're mine. _

"You have your pride, but I have seen enough in my life to know better. I will not make you admit it, but I know you have spent seven years wondering about what would have happened if you had stayed in the Labyrinth, if you were older.. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've not said my name this whole time. I am courteous enough not to force you to say it. I'll save that for more, how should I put this, familiar times." he said, almost whispering into her ear.

_Because you're mine…._

"You put a spell on me, you made it so that I wouldn't find love, didn't you." she asked sadly. "That's why I was never able to… I mean the boyfriends, something would always go... " her voice trailed off.

"Of course not," said Jareth gently "_You_ did that yourself. Today you are no longer a child. You are an adult. A woman. And might I add, a very, very enticing one at that." he said.

"If you're here to seduce me, you're out of luck. I'm not interested." Sarah said, forcing her voice to be steady.

"Liar," Jareth smiled "You and I both know that it wouldn't take much for me to seduce you. But that would be much too easy. And Sarah," said Jareth, placing both his hands on her shoulders. She drew her breath. _He's touching me… I should tell him to stop. No, I should kiss him. _"Don't cheapen what I feel for you. I want to learn about you, your mind first, and then the rest."

"Oh, I see. The rest," Sarah snorted.

"What a dirty mind you have. I meant your mind and then your heart." said Jareth, feigning surprise. She heard his voice change as he smirked "I plan on using that to my advantage."

Every cell in Sarah's body seemed to vibrate to the music playing. It seeped into her veins and under her skin, until its message seemed to bury itself into her brain.

_I don't care if you don't want me, I'm yours right now _

"You have a lot of questions, and I have the answers. About the Labyrinth, about yourself, and your past."

"What would you know about my past?"

"Many things. I have been watching you for a very, very long time. And the rest I have had my advisors look into. Your mother, for example and what the A in her middle name means, the A that no one else could answer for you."

Now he really had her attention. Intoxicated with the fragrance of the room and the climbing pace of the music, Sarah let her head slip back onto the chair. She didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to leave. If only she could stay in this moment forever.

"Today is your birthday, and I have brought you a present. If you accept it, I will understand that you are willing to play this game with me. You know how much I enjoy our little games, and this time, they will be most interesting."

Sarah felt something cold and heavy on her chest. She gasped as Jareth swept the hair from her neck and fastened a soft ribbon at the back. Tiny trails of pins and needles danced on her skin wherever he touched her.

"Happy birthday, Sarah" he whispered. She felt him place the lightest of kisses on her forehead. Her eyes flew open.

Sarah looked around the room wildly. The music had stopped now, and there was a lingering sensation in the air like electricity. She took a moment to realise that she was now alone.

Grabbing her coat, Sarah ran out of the room, past the bored looking woman at reception who didn't look in her direction, down the dark staircase and out onto the cobbled street. Outside, the streets of Camden were filled with their usual mix of tourists, pot heads and drunks, but Jareth was no where to be seen.

She took a few steps to the right, then to the left, feeling confused. That's when she remembered the gift. Her fingers scrambled around her neck to find the black velvet ribbon. She drew it out, and at the end hung a large, heavy key. It rapidly started to lose the heat it had drawn from her skin. Overhead, a half moon broke through the clouds.

Sarah looked at the key and tucked it back into her coat.

_I accept your gift, Jareth. _


	4. Chapter 4: Let me take you there

Author's note: Warning! Very adult themes to get started with, if you're easily offended by smut, please stop reading now!

Sorry for the delay, hope you'll stick with me and please leave feedback, good or bad! It makes my day to hear what you all think! :)

Sarah walked from the tube station to her flat in a daze. It was midnight - she had no idea how to account for the time. She knew she hadn't been with the Goblin King all that long, but when she left it was already well past 11. Had he rearranged time again? She wasn't sure. Nothing seemed to make sense any more. The only thing that felt real was the key bouncing against her with each step, and the surprising sense of sadness that had settled in the pit of her stomach.

The truth was that she hadn't expected Jareth to leave so suddenly. As nervous as he made her, she'd been enjoying the sparks fly between them. It was useless to deny it any longer. There was definitely something there, and this time it wasn't just her teenage mind playing tricks any more.

Reaching her door, she sighed heavily as she pushed it open. _So here I am, another woman in a long line of women throughout history that's now going to sit around wondering when the guy's going to call her_ she thought glumly. Why hadn't Jareth left her some way to contact her? How did this work, did she just wait now until he got back in touch?

Sarah walked over to the sink and filled a glass of cold water. Despite the fact that she'd had nothing to eat, she was strangely not hungry any more. She felt restless and unfulfilled, and it wasn't because her plans hadn't played out as she had expected tonight. The reason for her restlessness was Jareth.

When she had raised her eyes to look at him, it had taken her breath away. The last time she'd laid eyes on him she was only a girl. This time, she had taken him in as a grown woman, and it had made her heart race. She placed the glass down on her kitchen counter and looked out of the window.

Was he watching her right now? The thought both worried and excited her.

She started undressing as if in a trance. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she took her stockings off first. She'd bought those a while ago hoping her 21st birthday would be when she'd get lucky, and she looked at their lacy tops in her hands for a moment before tossing them aside. They landed in a crumpled heap next to the radiator.

Next she wiggled out of the emerald green dress that still smelt of incense and finally she was left just in her underwear. She'd deliberately worn a mismatched set, more to discourage any misbehaviour from herself than to stop Jareth. When she'd been getting dressed earlier this evening, she'd not even been sure if it really was Jareth who was going to be there when she turned up. What was it about him that made her feel so conflicted?

Sarah fell back on the bed, covered her face with her hands and moaned quietly. _What have you got yourself into? Where is he? Why didn't he at least hug me? Why didn't _I _try to hug him? _Her fingers moved to her forehead, remembering the feather-light kiss, and then slowly down to her lips. What would it have been like to kiss him? What if she _had_ kissed him? She rolled over groaning at her ridiculous thoughts. "You're 21! You're not 16, stop acting like a smitten schoolgirl! You don't even like him!" she said out loud to herself angrily.

She looked over at the red numbers dancing on the clock face in the darkness. 00:21 - better go to bed. Lying back down, she watched the key that was sitting on her belly move up and down as she breathed. A key. A key to where?

She felt the key's weight as she breathed and she looked up at the ceiling.

Okay. Jareth frightened her a little. He confused her. It was obvious he'd had his eyes on her for a while. But she'd be kidding herself if a king of the Underground wanted anything more than to just have his way with her. The way he'd played with her words tonight made that much clear. Well, if that was the case, she wasn't going to give in that easily. She wasn't going to be just another one of his conquests.

Sarah turned her head and closed her eyes. So, she wasn't going to let Jareth seduce her, and she didn't know what exactly it was she felt for him.

But that didn't mean she couldn't use his memory for her own pleasure either...

The thought shocked Sarah a little, but at the same time it sparked a delicious warmth deep in her belly.

What kind of lover would the Goblin King be? Her hands ran down her neck, over the curve of her breasts and down to her stomach.

Would he be gentle and sensuous? She reached slowly to the back of her bra and undid the clasp, imagining it was him as she did so. Would he touch her, just like this? The cold air made her nipples stand erect, and they grew harder still when she brushed her hands over them. Desire began to course through her and she could feel the heat rising in her skin as she teased and touched herself.

Or would he be cruel? Would he torment her with pleasure and pain? She dug her fingers hard into her breasts as she squeezed. Sarah reached down her thighs and raked her nails up her legs to her hips. She pulled at her underwear roughly, imagining the kind of movements Jareth might make. Would he tear her underwear off, like this?

Her fingers reached down now to touch herself, and she moaned softly. Her imagination was on fire as she saw his face in her mind. Would he throw her down on the bed, hold her legs open and touch her just like this? Would she be writhing with pleasure like she was now, torn between going further and stopping?

She thought of him pressing her thighs open with his knees and touching her faster and faster, enjoying her resisting him and smirking as she struggled not to climax. The pleasure was building in layers that were growing more and more unbearable now, and Sarah could no longer control her breath as it came in quick, shallow bursts.

The image in her mind was so clear it might as well be real, and in the midst of her intense pleasure Sarah half-opened her eyes a few times to make sure she really was alone.

"Ohhhhhh yes" she moaned softly. This is how he'd do it. She'd be beyond help by now, past trying to push back against how he kept her legs forced open as he sank his fingers into her, playing with her and teasing her as he moved them slowly, then gently building the speed, almost savage in his pursuit of her pleasure, kissing her neck and licking her nipples as he felt her reach the point of no return.

She arched her back as she reached the height of her climax and for the first time in her life she said his name out loud, moaning.

"Jareth!"

Sarah tossed her head from side to side on her pillow as an intense orgasm rushed through her, making her rock her hips to the imagined touch of her cruel king.

When it was all over and her room came back into focus, Sarah felt the cold envelope her again.

_What the hell was that? _she wondered, embarrassed. She got up slowly, her ears ringing as she pulled on a pair of pyjamas and got under her bed covers. She lay in the dark for a while, her mind spinning, before she quietly mouthed his name again. It felt good. Jareth. How come she'd never said it before?

Sarah felt into a deep, dreamless sleep. The whole time, the key had stayed around her neck.

Jareth had lingered over Sarah for a few moments, watching her closed eyes as he'd leaned in to kiss her forehead before moving at lightening speed out of Gilgamesh and onto the streets of Camden where he was quickly absorbed into the crowds. He walked briskly, feeling exhilarated, before he ducked into a dark alley and unlocked one of the portals back to the Underground.

Even though he's been watching Sarah for all these years, seeing her in the flesh had been overwhelming. As he stood close to her, he could feel the heat from her skin and smell the fragrance of her soft, brown hair. It looked so shiny and beautiful, he wanted to sink her face into it. He had wanted to hold Sarah close and kiss her heavily, passionately on her beautiful lips. In fact, it had taken all his self-control not to do so, not to cast a spell over her and transport her to his bedchambers.

That would have been much too easy. He'd enjoyed watching her unease. It was obvious that her feelings about him were conflicted. This alone was reason enough for him to toy with her.

As he lay back on his large bed that night, candlelight dancing around the darkness, he thought about the curve of her hips and the glimmer in her hazel eyes. She'd tried to feign disinterest, but she'd failed spectacularly.

_Sarah, Sarah. My enemy. My beloved. The bravest of any warrior, but yet afraid of your desire for me. _he thought. Jareth's bed suddenly felt large and empty. How long he'd waited to see her again, and now he wanted nothing more to have her here next to him, to feel her skin against his and to make her lose control as he drove her over the edge of her desire.

But no, it was more than that. Jareth realised with a start that what he wanted precisely at that moment was for Sarah to look at him and smile. That was another thing she'd never done - she'd never said his name and she'd never smiled when she saw him.

Conquering Sarah's body would be much too simple. He wanted all of her. After all, Sarah had no idea about how special she really was, how precious and rare. He would have to win her trust. She was too unique to lose because of a foolish miscalculation.

Jareth would have to show her that. The cards would have to be hers to hold, only then would she trust him. He nodded into the gloom, satisfied, and found himself wondering whether she was thinking of him too. It crossed his mind to watch what she was up to through one of his crystal balls, but no. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and if her flustered appearance was anything to go by earlier, he was pretty confident that Sarah's dreams would be filled with thoughts of him tonight.

The next morning Sarah was on a break from work when Rosa called her begging forgiveness. Something about food poisoning, a funky shrimp. She begged Sarah to meet her after work and Sarah was glad to accept.

The day passed slowly, and every time her headset beeped Sarah half hoped it was the Goblin King again. But nothing happened, and by the time Sarah packed her desk up to leave that evening, she found herself feeling a little crestfallen.

"I don't know what it was. Bad takeaway I guess. And I was all ready to go out too." she'd said sadly when they'd met at a pub the next evening. "I'm so sorry, darling."

"It's okay," said Sarah, smiling "These things can't be helped."

"So what did you do last night?"

Sarah quickly looked away, concentrating on her cocktail. "Oh, you know. Nothing much."

Rosa looked at her for a while before breaking into a slow smile.

"Sarah Williams. You were with a _guy_ last night weren't you?"

"No!" Sarah shot back immediately, her face reddening.

"Yes! Yes you _were_! You _know _you're a terrible liar!"

"Knock it off will you Rosa! It was a really weird night."

"So, did you two do it? Happy 21st birthday style?" Rosa said, grinning.

"Of course not. It's, it's really complicated."

"Oh sure, sure. What's so complicated about getting a little drunk, getting undressed and just jumping on him? Who is this mystery man? Do I know him?"

Sarah sighed. Rosa had caught her lie. But what exactly was she supposed to say now? _Yes, Rosa, it was a guy. But he's the king of the Underground, and I don't know what he wants, I don't know when I'll see him again, I don't know what I even feel and I sure as hell don't know what he feels?_

Rosa watched her for a few minutes before her face softened.

"A blast from the past, eh?"

"Yeah."

"Bad breakup?"

"Not really, but I guess you could say it's something like that. Nothing ever happened between us."

"But you're not sure if you're happy about that."

Sarah smiled at Rosa and shrugged. She took a sip of her cocktail and said nothing.

"Oh hun," said Rosa sympathetically "Do you at least know how he feels about you?"

"I really have no idea," Sarah said sadly. "He did come quite a way to see me though, so read into that what you will." she said.

"Well then he must like you, right?"

Sarah didn't dare to hope. She put her hands down onto her lap and searched her mind for what to say.

"Nah. I don't think he does."

"But why would he come to see you then if there wasn't something there? Come on Sarah, don't be such a fool. You're not 16 you know!"

Sarah sighed.

"Rosa, let's just say if this guy feels anything for me you can just roll me in glitter and call me Nancy, okay?"

Rosa laughed. Her beautiful red hair bounced as she did so, and when she was done, she placed her chin on her hand and looked at Sarah, eyes twinkling. "You're such a little weirdo! Cheers to that, then!" she said.

Sarah was grateful when they moved on to other topics.

Seven days passed without event. Sarah continued her rehearsals. She went to her rescheduled audition, but didn't get the part. Spring has started to creep into the streets of London and tiny little blooms had dared to appear on some of the trees still poking out of the concrete. A tiny hint of warmth curled itself into the air on the streets.

Seven days after her 21st birthday, Sarah rode the Underground into work again, listening to the song she'd heard that night in Gilgamesh on her headphones. Her mind wandered aimlessly from one topic to the next as she swiped her card at the call centre's entrance.

Andrew, the security guy, did a double take when he saw her. She waved at him. He slowly waved back, open-mouthed.

Sarah pressed the button to the fifth floor and rode the empty elevator, tapping her foot impatiently. As she pushed through the glass doors to her office, she noticed several people giving her funny looks.

"Morning Sarah, woooooooow… interesting look." said Katy as she walked past her to the bathrooms. "Morning.." she said weakly. What was she talking about? What interesting look?

She reached her cubicle and starting setting out her things. "Sarah! What's up with, with _this?" _Andrew, who sat in the cubicle next to her asked, gesturing at her.

Sarah suddenly felt self conscious. "Is there something on my face?" she asked, her hand flying to her chin.

"You could say that." said Andrew, hands in his pockets. "Did you come in on the tube looking like that?"

This was getting really weird. Sarah was about to ask Andrew what the hell he was talking about when Jamie walked over, looking equally bemused.

"Cute look! Did a glitter bomb go off in your flat or something? What's with the Nancy necklace?" he asked, smiling.

Sarah's hands flew to her neck and she craned her head to look down. Sure enough, there was a gold necklace around her neck which she had no recollection of putting on this morning that said Nancy in large, tacky, swirling letters.

"Oh no!"

She threw her bag onto her chair and ran to the bathroom.

When Sarah saw her reflection she was so shocked all she could do was cover her mouth and stare at herself.

From head to toe, Sarah was completely covered in glitter. It covered her hands and her face. It flecked through her dark hair. She shook her head and even more glitter floated out to the ground. There was so much of it, she had no idea where to even start to get rid of it.

_Oh. My. God._

_Let's just say if this guy feels anything for me you can just roll me in glitter and call me Nancy._

Sarah clenched her glittery fists and shouted "JARETH!"


	5. Chapter 5: Glitterball

_Author's note: sorry I vanished, I was having a depressive episode but I'm better now! I hope you'll keep following._

Sarah could not believe her reflection. Finally, she lowered her hands from her mouth and her brain kicked into gear and she grabbed handfuls of paper towels, scrubbing away at her face and neck. It was obviously Jareth's idea of a prank, and no matter how hard she scrubbed, the glitter refused the budge. She tried water and soap, she tried slathering cream over her arms and wiping it off again. Still nothing. Her allocated break time was up. Swearing loudly, she threw the glittery paper into the bin and stomped back to her desk.

Sarah spent the rest of her day with her eyes firmly glued to her call screen and keyboard. She took her calls through gritted teeth as colleagues giggled as they walked past her, and typed furiously through the puffs of glitter that fluttered with her movements. What was she supposed to say? How the hell did you explain why you turned up to work rolled in glitter? She muttered something about a prank by a friend after too many tequilas and left it at that.

All through the day, the glitter remained. She took as many toilet breaks as she was allowed, scrubbing each time, until she gave up. At lunch, silvery flakes of glitter floated into her soup as she ate. She noticed the more agitated she got, the more glittery she became. At one point, when she terminated a call after a particularly irate customer, trails of glitter followed her from her desk to the coffee room where she'd gone to get rid of some of her frustration with a piping hot cup of coffee.

She felt ready to cry by the time it was 5.30, but she managed to keep herself together, scared that her tears would turn her into a gigantic lump of glitter, and the glitter would get into her eyes and blur her vision the more upset she got, and then maybe she'd trip and fall and hurt herself, and by the time she got to A&amp;E the doctors would have to scrape away layers of glitter to actually get to her sitting under the pile.

To make herself feel better, she ran a mental dialogue in her head and she let her long brown hair shield her face on the tube.

_Jareth you coward. You do this to me and leave me no way to fix it. What's your point? Are you trying to get me fired? Is this some way of proving a long standing point? _

_If you think you're going to make my life hell, you're in for a surprise. I'm tougher than I look._

_Oh? It was a joke was it? Well you can take your jokes and go back to your, your… goblins and chickens! And take your stupid key and your mysterious answers with you!_

She got off the tube to start the walk back to her flat, walking as fast as she could. She was a few moments away from her front door when she felt her phone vibrate in her bag and fished it out through clouds of glitter. It was a message from her stepmother, and as Sarah read it, her eyes widened.

_Hey sweety, hope you're well. Just checking to see if you got the parcel I sent. I called but you must be on your way home still. Who's Jareth btw? He sounds very charming ;) you kept that quiet! xoxoxo_

No…. There was no way! The only other phoneline Sarah was available on was the landline in her flat which she'd kept installed because it was cheaper to call home through it. If her stepmother had called, and she hadn't picked up, but she suddenly knew who Jareth was, then that could only mean…

Sarah's fingers couldn't move fast enough as she jiggled her keys out of her bag and into the door of her flat. Running up the stairs, she cursed and swore as the keys slipped through her glittery fingers. She finally pushed the keys into the keyhole, her bag sliding down her arm and almost knocking her hand away as she did so.

The sight that greeted her left her stood in the doorway, frozen in shock. She wasn't the tidiest of people, but even she could see that her studio flat was a complete mess. At first she thought she'd been burgled - clothes and belongings were strewn across the floor - and then she noticed the books. All her books, which she kept stacked to the ceiling on her makeshift bookshelf of planks of wood propped up with breeze blocks. They were all spread across the carpet, opened on various pages.

Her eyes followed the trail and there he was. The Goblin King was sat in the only armchair in the room, one leg on the floor, one slung over the arm. He was dressed in his usual flamboyant attire, and reading the book in his hand with great intensity. To Sarah he looked as though he was so absorbed he hadn't seen or heard her come in, but when she opened her mouth to ask her what the hell he was doing there, he raised a finger to silence her, not even looking in his direction as he did so.

The dark leather of his gloves squeaked as he held his hand there. Then he began to read from the book: "He grabbed her in his muscular arms, derobbing her in one effortless move. Alina moaned. She dared not fight her desire any more. The man she loved to hate hoisted her onto his large silk-sheeted bed. She had no time to contemplate what was happening before she felt his mouth on her breast and with one vicious thrust, he began to move inside her." "My _goodness_ Sarah, is this the sort of thing you're into? What strange seduction techniques you humans have." said the Goblin King, tossing the book onto a pile in the corner.

Sarah stood there, horrified and silent, her face burning with embarrassment and outage. Of all the books she had on her shelf, all the highbrow reading, the history, philosophy and mathematics, he had to dig out her one trashy indulgence? Glitter threatened to blind her vision as she felt herself suddenly consumed with rage.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"How dare I what?" asked JAreth. He hadn't changed position, he sat exactly as she had found him with one leg hoisted on the chair's arm and his fingers clasped inquisitively infront of him. His head cocked to one side and he smirked, waiting for her reply.

"THIS! ALL OF THIS!" Sarah sputtered, gesturing at her room and leaving clouds of glitter in her wake.

"Oh this? Ah yes, silly old me. I do tend to be a little messy. I just wanted to try and get to know you better."

"Well did you think that maybe trying to talk to me was a better tactic than BREAKING INTO MY FREAKING APARTMENT?!"

"Ah, you're getting upset are you?" asked Jareth, feigning surprise.

This was too much. Sure, he was king of the Underworld, but how stupid did you have to be to display some common decency? A piece of glitter got into her eye and she lost her temper.

"Stop this! Stop it now! Take this off!" she screamed, stamping her feet like a kid having a tantrum.

"Take what off?"

"THIS! ALL OF IT!" said Sarah. Was he trying to be cute? She was furious. "I want all of this GONE RIGHT NOW!" she screamed, waving her hands around herself.

"Very well" said Jareth. He sat up and began to wave his hands at her. The glitter stopped immediately. Then her boots vanished, her gloves, her scarf, her long brown skirt, her bag and her black turtleneck, all so fast that she barely had time to realise it and within seconds she was stood infront of him in her laundry day underwear, a grey bra and an orange vest.

"Woah woah woah! Stop, what do you think you're doing?"

"You said you wanted all of it gone. I'm merely doing as you asked." replied Jareth, the mischief so obvious in his eyes now it was impossible to hide.

The cold air hitting her skin and her sudden sense of vulnerability took the edge off her temper. "I didn't mean everything you pervert! I meant the glitter!" She sat down abruptly, sitting cross legged on the floor and holding her head in her hands as she stared at the chipped glittery nail polish on her toes. She'd be lying if she said she'd never imagined undressing for him. But in her imagination, it kind of looked a little different and definitely didn't involve her laundry day undies. _Thank God I shaved my legs _she thought, immediately admonishing herself. _As if I want to impress him anyway! Yeah right!_

The Goblin King obviously wanted to play. She sat for a few moments, thinking. She couldn't think of anything to ask except for the obvious.

"Why are you here?" she said finally, her shoulder sagging.

"I told you already Sarah." said Jareth "I came here for you."

Sarah hugged her knees, trying to shrink away from his presence as best as she could. Why did he have to smell so damn good? "What's this all about? Why are you making calls to my stepmother?" she asked.

"On the contrary, she called me."

Sarah rolled her eyes "Oh really? Let me guess. She finds you so completely irresistible she too just can't stay away from you right?"

"What ever put an idea like that into your head? Your phone rang, I thought it impolite not to answer." he said simply. How was it that even his most outlandish behaviour seemed so reasonable when he explained it? "Charming woman, by the way." said Jareth grinning.

Sarah sat rooted to the spot. Jareth looked at her. She seemed to glow with her self conscious beauty. He wondered if he should risk approaching her. The worst she could do would be to hit him, the best… well he'd get to that.

Sarah thought she would faint right there when she heard him move out of the chair and his boots stride across the floor. She felt the cold squeeze of his leather gloves against her bare arms as he gently, almost imperceptibly eased her off the floor until she was standing. Her eyes were right on his chest. She could see her distorted reflection in his medallion. Her heart was going to jump right out of that hideous orange vest it was beating so hard. "Don't…. don't touch me." she whispered

"Sarah, look at me. I won't hurt you" he said, sounding genuinely sincere. _Don't, just don't. Don't give him the satisfaction. _But she couldn't help it. She raised her hazel eyes to meet his, fists clenched just in case he tried to do anything. His mismatched eyes seemed to look into the very depths of her being and Sarah felt her breath catch. _Please let him kiss me so I can hit him!_

"Was it took much? How about if I put it right, hmm?" asked Jareth. He turned her away from himself, and when Sarah at last tore her eyes away from him, she saw that her apartment was exactly as she'd left it. A sudden warmth engulfed her, and she yelped as she realised her clothes were all back on her. Had she imagined it all? She must be losing her mind. _I've got to see my doctor, ASAP, _she thought, and suddenly she felt his hands still on her arms, relaxing their grip.

Sarah quickly walked a few paces away and turned to face the Goblin King, pressing her back into the wall.

"I don't trust you. Why are you being like this? Gilgamesh, the glitter, following me around? Why are you here Goblin King?"

"I do apologise Sarah. I'll be frank with you. Most of my dealings thus far have been with Fae women, and Fae women adore these games."

Sarah scoffed and said mockingly "Are you telling me a man with your _vast _experience doesn't know what to do with a mortal woman?"

Jareth put his hands on his hips and looked down at her, biting his lip as he smiled and loving the fact that she'd fallen into his trap yet again. "Oh, I know what to do with mortal women, trust me on that one. I probably know much more than YOU know."

_Argh! Not again! _She was terrible at arguments anyway, she never won them. Her only strategy was to exit.

"I'm going to take a shower." she said, trying to sound authoritative "When I get back, you have two choices. You can either be here with some answers, or you can uh, you can not be here. I don't care either way."

She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door before realising she'd not brought a change of clothes. So she coolly walked straight back out to her cupboard under the burning gaze of the Goblin King and pulled out a pair of tracksuit bottoms and an oversized sweater.

"Stop smirking" she hissed, closing the door again. She lingered by it for a few seconds. There was no lock, and she had no shower curtain. Suddenly his voice boomed from the other side of the door "I'm not going to come in if that's what you're worried about."

Sarah quickly reached over and pulled the flush "What was that? Sorry I didn't hear you. Stay there and um, I'll be right out, and DON'T touch my stuff!"

The hot water began to fall on her skin. Sarah felt it pierce through her brown hair and into her scalp. She checked to be sure - there wasn't a fleck of glitter washing down the drain. She thought as she raced through her shower. He was here. He clearly wanted something. Was it her? Was it something else? What was going on? As she reached down to scrub her legs, the key he had given her bounced against her knees. She didn't know why but she couldn't bring herself to take it off.

It was time to get some answers.


	6. Chapter 6: I can't feel my Fae

The bathroom mirror squeaked loudly as Sarah wiped her hand across the steam to look at her reflection. She was dressed in black tracksuit bottoms and a baggy beige sweater. Her hair was clipped up with an enormous black jaw clip to stop it getting wet, and small tendrils that had escaped hung around her face and neck. She undid the clip and let it cascade down her shoulders, looking at herself.

_No! Put it back up, he'll think you're trying to impress him! _She quickly twisted the rope of her brown hair and clipped it up. Now it looked too tidy, like she'd let it down and put it back up. She shook her head quickly and pulled a few pieces of hair out. There. No way he'd realise how nervous and self conscious she was feeling right now, how much she cared about how she looked even though she desperately wanted to not care at all. She looked at her face. Not the face of a child any more. Her childhood years had melted away from her features, leaving behind defined cheekbones, dark, serious eyebrows and full lips. Her nose was straight and regal, like Nefertiti "You have the nose of a queen! You are a queen!" the coke head outside Camden station would regularly tell her. Sometimes she'd see him and change direction, and he'd still spot her and shout "There she is! The queen of the Underground! Hello queen!" Camden was such a weird place.

Outside the bathroom door, she could hear various sounds of things being moved, the kitchen faucet running and drawers being opened and shut. Sarah gritted her teeth. She'd showered with her eyes on the bathroom door the whole time, and true to his word, the door had remained faithfully shut. The handle hadn't been tried even once, and neither had his shadow passed near the door. He had stayed away as promised. So what was that racket? Was he going through her things again when she'd _just_ told him not to?

_Honestly Jareth, you're like a child. _Sarah suddenly realised she was taking too long. She hesitated a few seconds in front of her mirror and looked around her bathroom. A bit of lipstick maybe? A little kohl? No, he'd be sure to notice. She settled on the smallest dab of perfume behind her ear from a tiny glass bottle Rosa had brought her back from a holiday to Morocco and took a deep breath as she opened the bathroom door, bracing herself for whatever new annoyance lay in front of her this time.

Jareth stood in her studio flat, his back turned to her as he worked in the kitchen. He heard her come out of the bathroom and turned, knife in hand "Ah Sarah! I hope you enjoyed freshening up. I thought you might be hungry." Sarah looked at the small space that she called home, amazed. The Goblin King had set two places at the tiny kitchen table, set with her mismatched plates and cutlery. A tea light candle had been placed in between the two plates and the lights dimmed. Music was playing on her stereo.

The Goblin King smiled as he watched her wondering how she should react. He could tell he'd caught off guard and that she wasn't expecting this. She walked slowly around the table towards the door and pointed at her light switch. "This" she said "is not a dimmer switch."

Jareth laughed and raised his right hand. He swayed it left, then right. The lights grew brighter, then dimmed again. Sarah looked around, startled.

"Any more questions?" he asked her, smiling. Sarah shook her head.

"Why don't you take a seat?" said Jareth, gesturing towards one of the stools he'd placed near the kitchen table.

Sarah crossed her arms. "No offence, but the last time you gave me something to eat, it didn't work out so well."

The Goblin King pointed his spatula at her. "Touche. Come come now Sarah, are you going to hold a grudge forever? Can you not see I'm trying to make amends?"

Sarah stayed where she was, staring at him. "Do you expect me to believe that you, great King of the goblins, that you know anything about cooking? Surely you've got your little minions to cater to this sort of thing."

The Goblin King had his back turned to her now as he continued working at the tiny stove. Sarah had to admit it smelled incredible. "What do you think it is I do all day as a king, Sarah?" He didn't continue, waiting for her answer. Sarah rolled her eyes. Another game.

"Let me see now." she unfolded her arms and began ticking points off her fingers. "From what I remember you're a vain, spoilt tyrant who runs an army of goblins, kidnaps innocent babies, terrorises teenage girls by trapping them in your labyrinth and tries to kill them before they can rescue their little brothers. Oh, and you drug underage girls." she said. "Did I leave anything out?"

Jareth continued to stir. He began talking with his back still turned to her. "I can understand that you must have that impression of me. You are entitled to your opinion, and our first meeting was not the best, I admit. But there's more to being a king than meets the eye." he wiped his hands on a towel and took the saucepan off the stove.

"Kings must be leaders. They must set an example. Yes, I have others that undertake several tasks for me, but in the Underworld, you are not born a king. You are chosen."

Sarah blinked, watching him as he served.

"The old king appoints the new one."

"I can imagine the standards must be pretty low." said Sarah.

The Goblin King continued, unperturbed. "It was qualities in the battlefield which brought me to the attention of the generals, and eventually, the king himself. From there my training began until I myself was ready to rule. But in addition to frittering away all my time playing games, as you seem to imagine, I have been in many, many battles and several wars. I have fought alongside my soldiers, never behind the battle line. Many of my bravest warriors have breathed their last in my arms. I have spent months in battlefields with very few resources and little to eat."

He scraped the last drops of sauce onto a bed of rice on her plate.

"And as you can see, all those years of having to be inventive to feed myself and my army did come in handy. There was almost nothing in your kitchen to work with." He looked up at her. Sarah noticed his face was serious. She wondered for a second if she'd genuinely upset him. Then he smiled. "I hope you don't _still _think I'm a spoilt king, do you? Please, take a seat."

Sarah gingerly eased herself onto a stool and gripped its edges. Jareth opened a bottle of wine and poured some into her glass. It was one of those cheap, thick glasses so easily found in markets and it was chipped. It didn't match his glass either, which was a pint glass the previous occupant had left behind. _I should buy wine glasses._

"You really ought to buy some wine glasses."

"Are you reading my mind?" Sarah snapped. _If he read that thought, oh my God what else is he reading? Quick! Think of snails, think of fish guts. Do not think of him!_

"Don't be ridiculous" said Jareth "I'll admit it was a talent I had once but I deliberately forfeited it in a chess match with another king. I found there's no fun in knowing what your adversary thinks. And you know as well as I do," he said, walking behind her and deftly unclipping her jaw clip to send her hair tumbling around her face, "that I do love a challenge."

"Hey! Give that back!"

"I shall not. It looks better down." said the Goblin King, sitting down opposite her. He rolled his flamboyant sleeves up and tore a chunk off a loaf of bread he'd placed on the table. Sarah noticed he wasn't wearing his leather gloves. Seeing his hands exposed like that felt strangely intimate and she looked away.

"Sarah" Jareth interrupted her thoughts. "Please, ladies first." he sat smiling at her, waiting for her to start.

Sarah looked at her plate. The food smelt delicious and looked amazing, even if she couldn't identify any of it. Her stomach rumbled and she pressed her arms down against it. She cleared her throat.

"What is it?" she asked.

Jareth sighed and looked at her with an amused expression. "There's nothing in it that would harm you." he said.

Sarah picked up her mismatched knife and fork and pushed the food around for a few moments watching as the Goblin King gave a satisfied smile and dipped a chunk of bread into the sauce on his plate. The pale light shone off his golden hair and his darker eyes seemed to have turned entirely black. He popped the piece of bread into his mouth and his eyebrows creased in satisfaction as he licked his fingers. "Mmmmm! It's very good, if I do say so myself."

Sarah put her cutlery down loudly next to her plate.

"I'm sorry, I can't eat this." she said, feeling her face get hot.

The Goblin King dipped another piece of bread into the sauce. "Is something the matter?" he asked casually?

Sarah thought about it. What could she possibly say? She didn't want him here, at the same time she was desperate to know what this was all about. Maybe, she thought, she should just be honest. Be honest, but keep her wits about her.

"I can't eat," she said "Because you're making me too nervous."

The Goblin King looked at her, the piece of bread in his hands. A delighted smile spread across her face. "Good!" he said, grinning.

"Good? You're happy that you make me so nervous I can't eat?" Sarah retorted.

"I like a bit of tension. It makes things so much more enjoyable, don't you agree?" asked Jareth, pouring himself a drink from a bottle Sarah couldn't identify.

"I don't want to play your games Goblin King" Sarah snapped.

"Oh you don't?" said Jareth. He wiped his hands and got up swiftly to walk around the table and behind Sarah. Sarah gasped as she felt his cold fingers brush unexpectedly on the back of her neck, then the feel of the ribbon around her neck sliding against her skin and finally the warm key as it emerged past her breasts from inside her misshapen sweater.

"If you don't want to play, then why are you wearing this, hmmm?" he asked, leaning down as he asked her.

_Damn! That stupid key! _Sarah thought, cursing herself for leaving it on. It was his gift which she had accepted on her birthday from him. This gift that meant she was willing to join him on whatever he had in mind. She blushed. Jareth stayed there next to her and quietly said "Got you, Sarah." He laughed as he let the ribbon go and sent the heavy key disappearing down her clothes again. Her hazel eyes flashed angrily as she watched him take her seat again.

"You're so uptight Sarah, here drink some of this," he said, pouring some of the purple liquid from its bottle into her glass.

"What is that?" she asked uncertainly.

The Goblin King turned very serious. He leaned in towards her, and Sarah felt herself lean in despite herself. He stared quietly for a few seconds. "It's poison." he said, very seriously.

Sarah blinked, and then saw the mischief come back into his eyes. He grinned. "Is that what you wanted to hear? What's this, what's that. Don't you trust me Sarah?" he asked.

"I don't, but I'm not scared of you either." she said firmly, trying to make her point. She punctuated it by eating a bite of the food on her table. She suddenly gasped. It was one of the most delicious meals she'd ever eaten.

"Oh my _God!_" she said in spite of herself. "Good?" asked Jareth, enjoying her eat. Sarah ate some more, it was so delicious she didn't care about saying what she thought. "It's _incredible!_ Did you do this with magic?' she asked. It was an honest question. No mortal food tasted that good.

"Not at all," replied Jareth. "Like I said, I've been around for quite some time, and being a good cook is one of the skills I've had the time to perfect. By the way," he added "I do so enjoy that we're having conversation. Like I told you Sarah, I will not hurt you." Now it was his turn to be surprised as he caught the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. _At long last, a smile from my beloved, _he thought.

Sarah was eating heartily now and taking sips from her glass. She realised how hungry she must have been. "What is this recipe any way?" she asked.

"It's malicort with grass seeds" replied the Goblin King. Sarah looked at her place. "Grass seeds. You mean rice?"

"Yes, I suppose that's what you'd call it."

"And malicort?" she asked.

"I believe you call them cockroaches if I'm not mistaken."

Sarah froze. She got up quickly, upsetting the table as she did, and dashed to the kitchen sink, spitting out her food and scrambling for some water.

"How the hell could you feed me cockroaches! I can't believe this!" she shouted once she was done coughing. The Goblin King looked genuinely bemused. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked "I thought humans quite enjoyed cockroaches."

Sarah covered her eyes, gritting her teeth. "How could you not even know if you've been around for so long as you say?!" she yelled, feeling sick to her stomach.

Now the Goblin King was getting irritated. "Do you realise what a delicacy these things are in the Underground? Especially for a land locked kingdom like mine. The sea is quite far away, and they spoil so quickly…"

"What does the sea have to do with anything?" asked Sarah, grabbing a tea towel to wipe her flushed face.

"Dear child, that's where the malicort live, both above and under ground." said Jareth simply.

Sarah stood still for a moment. "Cockroaches don't live in the sea."

"Sea cockroaches. Malicort." explained Jareth, leaning against her fridge with his arms crossed. He genuinely looked confused.

Sarah thought for a few seconds, clutching the tea towel. She looked at the fridge. He said he's whipped up the meal with whatever was in her flat, and her freezer was compeltely empty apart from…

"Do you mean prawns?"

The Goblin King snapped his fingers. "Yes! That's the word I was looking for."

Sarah hid her face with the tea towel to hide the fact that she was smiling now. This was going to be so complicated. "Why don't we continue our meal?"

They both sat back down. The misunderstanding had gone some way to break the ice. For the first time Sarah had seen him unsure of himself. Now was a good a time as any to ask a few questions.

"So, um, this key" she said "What does it open."

"A door"

Sarah rolled her eyes "That's obvious, but what door? The door to the Labyrinth? Your castle?"

"My bedroom?" Jareth continued, noticing how she blushed.

"Of course not" she snapped.

"Don't flatter yourself Sarah, I don't yet trust you enough to give you something that would compromise my safety in that way." said Jareth. Hearing this made Sarah feel strangely stung. _Why do I care anyway?_

"This is not the key to labyrinth. It's the key to the end of your labyrinth."

"I don't have a labyrinth" Sarah said.

"Yes you do," said Jareth. He reached across and tapped Sarah just below her collarbone. "In here."

Sarah flinched and sat back. "What do you mean."

"There is a labyrinth within you. You are at the start of it, and you are searching for answers. At the end of your labyrinth is a door which this key unlocks. And trust me, it has nothing to do with me or my kingdom."

Sarah clasped her fingers together and rested her face on her hands. "Go on" she said.

"We each must make a journey. I cannot make yours for you, but as I have already told you I came back here for you. You don't trust me, and you are right to do so. I can be cruel." he sat back now, watching her.

"I can only help you through your labyrinth, and this is the only piece of your puzzle that I can give you."

"So what's your "personal labyrinth" as you call it" said Sarah, making quotation marks with her fingers.

"You are my personal labyrinth. I must win your trust, and you shall be my prize." said Jareth, looking at her seriously now. Sarah watched him, and then looked away.

"How exactly do you plan on playing this game if I don't trust you?" she asked him.

Jareth got up with his glass in hand. He walked over to her bed and sat on it, gesturing for her to do the same. "Not a chance!" she said, shaking her head.

"Oh come come now Sarah, all I wish is for you to sit next to me. Am I to blame that you have no furniture except for that chair over there? Unless of course you would be happy to sit on my knee, which I have no objection to" he said with a smile.

Sarah took her own glass from the table and gingerly eased herself on her flowery bedspread next to him. It felt exhilarating, being so close to him like that. She could feel his eyes on her, drinking her in, and quickly looked up at him. _Yup, he's looking at me, gorgeous as ever_ she thought. She took a big gulp from the purple wine in her glass.

"Go easy with that," said Jareth "It's strong stuff. Wine, from my own vineyard. Do you like it?" he asked. Was he looking for her approval? It was all so strange.

"It's good," said Sarah "REALLY good actually" she said, taking another large gulp. The Goblin King eased her glass down. "You're going too fast" he said gently.

"Isn't that my line?" Sarah asked, pressing one finger to her temple and looking into the distance as she smiled. She was feeling really light headed now after just three sips of this stuff. What was going on? Was she cracking jokes with the Goblin King?

Jareth set his glass down and prised Sarah's out of her slender fingers - he really hadn't counted on how quickly wine from the Underground would take hold of a mortal. They were hand in hand now, and Sarah realised how cold his hands were, and how the sensation of his skin touching her own sent shivers through her. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Look at me, Sarah," said the Goblin King and in spite of her cloudy mind, she turned to face him. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, settling himself a little closer to her on the bed.

"Don't…" Sarah whispered. _Don't what? It's not like you would stop him._

"I wouldn't dream of it" said Jareth gently, smiling at her. "I wish only to win your trust Sarah, and I have given you my word many times that I shall not hurt you. Our journey has just begun, and you are not quite ready yet in any sense of the word for anything I have to say to you," he said, pulling her close until his lips were by her ear, "or do to you…"

Sarah gasped and he felt her wondering whether to bridge the final space between them. "You are more remarkable than you realise" he said, earnestly.

"I...I…" Sarah's mind was a mess now. Damn underworld wine!

"What do you wish to say?"

"I … can't feel my face. Like, at all" said Sarah, her eyes pressed shut as she sat against the Goblin King trying to process the bizarre sensations the wine and his proximity were producing in her veins.

She suddenly pulled away and sat back, gently pressing her fingers around her face.

The Goblin King sat back, watching her, finding it all most amusing. As Sarah pressed around her face, he leaned in and brushed a finger across her lips. " Can you feel that?" he asked.

Sarah's eyes were closed. She'd felt something, but she wasn't sure what. "Not really" she sighed.

"Then if you can't feel it, it won't be against the rules if I do this" said the Goblin King, moving closer to Sarah, taking her face with her closed eyes in his hands and very gently, fleetingly, he kissed her on her lips.


	7. Chapter 7: Come Away With Me

_Author's note: Thank you all of you who have kept reading and stuck with me! I find myself daydreaming about plot lines during work meetings, and while I'm driving. Sorry the updates take so long. Happy birthday David Bowie!_

The sound of her apartment door slamming woke Sarah up with a start. She rubbed her eyes, dazed from the deep sleep she'd just woken up from. The truth was she hadn't slept that well in as long as she could recall. A comforting sense of safety had enveloped her all night, as if she had been watched over by a protector.

Then she remembered.

_The night before! Jareth! He was here. He fed me something, and then that drink… and then?_

She threw her bedcovers off and quickly checked herself. She was still in the same clothes from last night, not a stitch out of place. The key - still there. So what had happened? Had he spent the entire night here? Sarah sat up in her narrow bed. Normally she slept curled up against the wall. Now she'd woken up on the outer edge of the bed. She reached her hand over to the side of the bed closest to the wall - it was still warm.

Sarah rolled over to the warm side of the bed. She turned her face to the sheets, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and sure enough the unmistakable scent of the Goblin King still lingered there. If she needed any more proof, something tickled her closed eye. She brushed her face and caught a single, straight strand of long golden hair.

Sarah leapt up now and rushed to her window to look down onto the street, and there in the distance she caught sight of a figure in a dark cloak striding purposefully away through the crowd, swagger stick in one hand. It was him! What was he doing just walking down the street like that? She watched him until he turned the corner and was gone.

Sarah blushed. So he had spent the night here. He was certainly determined, but what was it he wanted? She looked over at her kitchen to find everything from the previous night had been cleaned and tidied away. She rolled her eyes. _Guess that doesn't take long if you use magic. _Her head was still foggy as she walked slowly around her apartment, yawning. What time was it? Close to 10 am. It had been a long time since she'd slept in that late. It felt good. She felt rested for once. She looked at her calendar. Friday.

_Friday?!_

Sarah was wide awake now, rushing around her apartment, tearing clothes out of her closet and trying to simultaneously dress and brush her teeth. Amanda was going to kill her for being this late. And she had belly dance class after work. Getting her coin belt and shawls and stuffing them into a bag ate up a few more minutes before she was finally ready to leave, brown hair flying in the breeze as she ran to the tube station.

_Sneaking into my flat uninvited, drugging me and making me late for work. Thanks a lot, Jareth! _she fumed.

As expected, she had to grit her teeth and put up with Amanda's passive aggressive fury once she got into work.

"Well, well, well, Miss Williams, how nice of you to do us the honour of turning up." she trilled through a fake, coral pink smile.

"I'm so sorry, my alarm didn't go off." Sarah pleaded. A bad end to the week, just in time for the weekend.

"Yes, well, while you were catching up on your beauty sleep we've been having a melt down over here. Late orders, angry customers. So you're on sales _and _customer service today. That should make amends, don't you think?" smiled Amanda.

"Sounds fair!" said Sarah, mustering up all the brightness she could. At least her talent for acting allowed her to pretend she didn't want to throw this woman out of the eighth floor window.

Amanda was right. The customers were furious. There was no time to think about the Goblin King or the previous night, the things he had said, his fingers on the back of the neck as he drew that key up on its ribbon. Finally, her day was over and she ran out of the building to take the two tube journeys to get to her dance class.

At least here, there was some solace. Sarah had accidentally discovered her talent for oriental dance when she'd started dancing at a party after a stage show. One of the cast members was from Egypt and had added some of her own music to the mix of music for the night. She'd convinced Sarah to pursue the dance "You have a natural ability, you should do it! I can't believe you haven't already. The movements are like they were made for you."

It was dark outside when the teacher clapped her hands and called the end to the class. A dozen other girls headed to the changing rooms, coin belts tinkling. It was the first time all day Sarah was able to catch a few minutes to relax. She sat slumped opposite the floor length mirror, looking at herself as the other girls chattered and changed around her. The brown hair, the hazel eyes, the olive skin. How was she supposed to believe that the Goblin King was interested in her? He was a man - well, sort of - who could travel between realms and through time. Any woman could be his. With a snap of his fingers, she could be his. So why all this effort? Why her?

If he kept reappearing and disappearing, she'd never get to the bottom of it. She sighed and slung her bag over her shoulder as she headed outside. She took a shortcut to the tube station through a small alley normally busy with drunks and couples sharing stolen kisses. But today it was empty. Sarah walked on regardless.

It was silent apart from the sound of her shoes on the cobbled street, and Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Halfway down the alley, a short figure jumped out at her. Sarah yelped and jumped back. It was a woman, with very long red hair in two braids down to her knees and a perfect, round face that gazed out of a the hood of a black cloak that covered her entirely. Her cheeks were bright and her green eyes twinkled as she approached Sarah with a smile.

"Be you Sarah?" she asked in a musical voice. Sarah stood frozen, looking down at the woman whose head barely reached her shoulders.

"Yes...I'm Sarah."

"If you be Sarah, answer me this" said the woman. "The Goblin King, what power has he over you?"

Sarah forgot to feel scared now and her temper took over. "Power? None!" she said angrily. "He doesn't have any power over me!"

The woman grinned. "You be the right Sarah then." She pulled something out from the folds of her cloak and held it out.

"This be for you. From the Goblin King."

Sarah looked down at the woman's gloved hands. She was holding some kind of letter, folded in thirds and closed with a seal. She gingerly took it.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Mistress."

Sarah started to walk away nervously when the woman called out behind her. "And Mistress!" she shouted, scuttling up closer. "Not for I to tell you this, but his Highness is most jovial since rediscovering you." Before she could respond, the woman bowed and dashed into the shadows, where she vanished.

Sarah stared with wide eyes, looking up and down the alley to see if anyone else had just seen this. The alley remained empty. Sarah realised she was crushing the letter in her hands.

_I'm losing my mind!_

She quickly walked the length of the alley to the tube station and pulled out her phone. She was due to meet Rosa, and there was nothing else to it but this.

"What the hell is the matter with you, love?" Rosa asked, crossing her arms on the table in front of her and leaning in. Around them, Friday night was kicking off as revellers enjoyed their drinks in the gloomy but cosy confines of the pub.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay? You're so distracted today. You've been acting weird since that mystery man entered the scene, and you won't even tell me who he is, which just makes it worse." she said.

Sarah blinked and rummaged in her bad. She pulled out the crumpled letter.

"Rosa, do you see this?"

Rosa looked at the paper in Sarah's hand. "Yeah I do. What about it?"

"So… it's real, right? It's not just something my mind made up?"

"Bloody hell, you've got it bad. Give it." Before Sarah could stop her, Rosa snatched the letter. "Is this from him?" she asked, trying to pry open the seal. Sarah nodded, and watched as Rosa tried again and again to break the seal.

"Doesn't your man know how to use a seal? He's superglued this on." she complained. Sarah picked the letter out of her hands.

"_Not_ my man." She lifted the edge of the paper under the seal, and it came away effortlessly.

Rosa gasped. "How did you do that?"

Sarah took another sip of her red wine, looking at the swirling writing on the paper.

"Well?" asked Rosa "What does it say?"

Sarah lowered her eyes to the leathery paper in her hands and began to read:

"Dearest Sarah,

Forgive me for dashing off, but I had urgent matters to attend to. Thus I have dispatched this letter with my most trusted messenger. It is for your eyes only - the seal can only be broken by you.

I enjoyed your company most immensely last night, though I failed to anticipate the effect that Underground wine would have on you. An oversight on my part that cost me the better half of an evening. I do apologise for that, it was not planned, and neither was the stolen kiss.

Sarah's hand flew to her lips. A kiss? And she'd not even realised? _Damn!_

Despite that, it was not a waste. I am glad to have been close to you last night, albeit in the simple manner that it was. I do not need to hide my intentions that I plan for much, much more between us. As hard as you try to deny it, I am a man of experience, and I know when a woman is denying she wants the same.

Did you know that in your state of sleep, you trust me much more than when you are awake? I was most pleasantly taken aback when you embraced me in your sleep. I admit that it was most difficult for me to restrain myself, and in my sleepless state as I fought to resist you, I did much thinking. You should know that I am a man who takes what he wants. For me to hold back from taking you was most interesting even for myself. But then, I did not want to break your trust.

_Oh great. _

Sarah, it is clear to me that in order to win your trust we must spend some more time together. I think I have already proved my intention of not harming you, and now I will win your trust. Let me point out that this is not an attempt. I _will _win your trust one way or another.

Sarah rolled her eyes. So typically arrogant.

It may surprise you to know that like you, I too have questions of my own which I would like you to answer. In order to do so, I extend an invitation to you to spend some days with me at a place where you may become more familiar with me, and I with you.

Sarah, let me make it clear to you: I mean you no harm. There is a depth to you that even you do not realise, a power that I have yet to understand. You may try to fight it, but I know well enough that we are cut from the same cloth, you and I. When you look at yourself, you feel incomplete. In the deepest depths of your sorrow, when you weep, you know that something is missing. You are half of one whole. I will venture to guess that in the depths of your loneliness, it is I who come to your mind.

If you would join me, it would be most pleasing. You shall be free to leave at any time, and you need not fret about your place of employment. But Sarah, I will not pursue you forever. I am patient, but even my patience has limits. Should you not take up my invitation, I will accept that as a sign and pursue you no further. The loss will be entirely yours.

"Oh _come on_!" Sarah exclaimed, frowning. "What! What does it say!" Rosa asked.

Tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock, travel to Aldwych. Board any train that goes in that direction. It will stop at the platform. We shall depart from there. I shall wait for you.

Yours most affectionately,

Jareth

_Jareth..._Sarah closed her eyes and pressed the letter against her chest as she sat back. So he'd cornered her. He was giving her one shot, knowing how curious she was about all this, knowing she would go. And if she didn't go, that would be it.

Rosa had practically climbed across the table. "WHAAATTT! What does it say?"

"He wants me to go away with him tomorrow." said Sarah.

"Wow! Are you going to?" said Rosa, resting her chin on her hand.

Was she going to? "I don't think I have much of a choice. He says this will be his last attempt."

"Well I know you well enough to know you'll go. Better pack the lingerie." grinned Rosa.

"Shut up!" said Sarah, but she couldn't help but smile as she blushed. "How are you so sure I'll go anyway?"

"Because," said Rosa, downing the last of her beer "If you didn't want to see him again, you wouldn't go. Simple. The fact that you're even bothered about it means you want to go. Badly. So go."

Sarah sighed and brushed her hair back with both hands. "This is probably the craziest thing I'll ever do." she said. "I guess I better pack."

The next evening, Sarah sat nervously on her Underground train, fidgeting with a ring on her finger. She had changed her mind hundreds of times already that day, until finally deciding to go. She needed to know, about herself, about this key, and yes, though she hated to admit it, the thought of not seeing the Goblin King again finally pushed her decision.

The doors opened and shut at each station. People got on and off. Finally, she was alone in her carriage. The train seemed to travel for a long time, until it slowed into a dimly lit platform. Aldywch. The station had been shut for decades. It was completely out of use to the public. The train wasn't meant to have stopped here. But it had.

The doors slid open one more time. Sarah hesitated, gripping the handle of her overnight bag. As the doors moved to shut, she leapt up and onto the platform. The doors shut behind her and the train slowly pulled out.

Now she was alone. It was cold on the platform. Sarah clutched her bag and pulled her long coat around her neck as she looked around. Her heart was pounding and for a while she thought she began to doubt herself. What if he'd tricked her? And now she'd get into trouble for trespassing.

As she was thinking this, a distant sound caught her attention. It was coming from the tunnel, but this didn't sound like a train. Sarah crept closer to the edge of the platform, peering into the darkness. The thundering sound grew louder and louder, before all of a sudden two shining black horses burst out of the tunnel pulling a black carriage behind them.

Sarah's jaw dropped as the horses galloped down the tracks, finally stopping just in front of her. The door of the carriage opened. Sarah looked behind her at the exit one last time before gathering the long grey skirt she was wearing and climbing through the open door. Her hand reached out instinctively, to be met with the cool touch of leather.

She looked up. The Goblin King grinned back at her, holding her hand. Sarah gasped and snatched it away, scrambling to sit in the small carriage opposite him.

"Well, well, well." said Jareth "Sarah, how delightful that you accepted my invitation."

With that, he tapped on the roof of the carriage with his swagger stick and the carriage began to move out of the platform and into the tunnel. As it disappeared into the darkness, a pale orange glow lit the inside of the carriage. Sarah swallowed hard, looking at the Goblin King bathed in the orange light which made him seem even more otherworldly than normal.

The Goblin King looked at her as he settled back into his seat. She looked like a deer that knows it has an arrow aimed at it, he concluded. Her confusion softened his heart. _Remain true to your promise, Jareth_ he reminded himself, as he reached out to touch her knee.

She flinched. "Sarah, relax. Remember the letter." he said.

Sarah took a deep breath and nodded. It was true. She was done with this constant back and forth. _Remember why you're here, Sarah_ she told herself. She'd thrown herself into this risk to for a reason. It was too late to be scared or cautious now. Now, she'd have to operate on instinct alone and see where it took her. She decided to start with the basics.

"Good evening, your Highness."

Jareth tilted his head, resting both hands on his swagger stick. "Good evening, Sarah. Just Jareth will do." he said.

He leaned in. "Don't be so guarded. This will be fun."

Sarah nodded cautiously.

"Where are we going?"

"To a castle not far from here. I have a feeling you won't want to leave." said Jareth.

"I guess we'll see." said Sarah, her eyes flashing defiantly as she looked at him. He searched her eyes for a few moments, noting the hint of a smile on her lips. Sarah was going to play the game. And he was going to savour every minute.


	8. Chapter 8: Let it happen

_Author's note: Here we go! The music in this chapter is watch?v=RhZJj74M9d0 Thanks for reading and reviewing, means a lot x_

Sarah and the Goblin King sat in silence for a few moments. It was Sarah who broke the silence first. "I brought you something." She opened her overnight bag and took out a bottle of wine, trying to hide how her hands fumbled. "A present." she said, offering the bottle out to him.

The Goblin King raised his eyebrows. "A present for me? Well, this is a first." he said, taking the dark bottle in his gloved hands. "The guy at the store said it's a good one." Sarah offered. Jareth looked at the label - Châteauneuf-du-Pape, an excellent label, and not cheap for someone on her income. "You didn't have to do that." he said, genuinely touched.

"Well you're putting me up so I thought, you know, it was the polite thing to do." said Sarah.

The carriage continued to thunder through the tunnels until it emerged into the dark countryside. The moon was out now, and the dark sky was laced with thin wisps of cloud.

He watched her intently as the carriage rocked back and forth. Finally he took a breath.

"What are you thinking, Sarah?" he asked coolly.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." she said, shaking her head and smiling nervously as she looked out of the window. _Still guarded_, noted Jareth.

"Neither can I." replied the Goblin King.

Sarah turned her hazel eyes to him, surprised. "Really? What have you got to lose?" she asked.

"What makes you think there is anything to lose for either of us? Well, perhaps your virginity, but.."

"HEY!" Sarah shot back, alarmed.

Jareth began to laugh deeply. "It was a joke! I won't be taking anything from you that you don't want to give."

Sarah brushed a wisp of hair off her face. "Why do you keep saying stuff like that?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"Because I like to tease you. It's just too easy. It's so entertaining watching you squirm when I've hit upon something I know you want too. Watching you protest is fun." he said, smirking. He watched the red seep into her face again, relishing it. Right again.

"Let's change the subject. You said this is to get to know each other better? So shoot. Ask a question. There's not that much to know."

"Alright," said Jareth. "It turns out I do have a rather pressing question." His face turned serious now as he fixed her with his gaze. It was dark outside. No lights shone on the horizon. All they were left with was the orange glow of the carriage that twinkled off the inside, bouncing off the glitter that was caught in the crannies.

"When you were faced with the choice of staying or leaving, why did you leave, Sarah?" said Jareth. He linked his gloved fingers together, waiting for her response.

Sarah was taken aback. "The Labyrinth? Because I won! I beat you."

"Yes, you did. But do you remember what I said to you? I offered you your dreams. That's not a small gift. Why didn't you take them? Why did you choose not to stay?"

It was Sarah's turn to be surprised now. Could she detect a tone of melancholy in the Goblin King's voice? She'd never thought her choice in that moment would have such an impact on him. In the days and months after her escape, she had relived that moment, and seen over and over again how the Goblin King's face had fallen when she had uttered the right words to him.

"I had to go. I had to make sure Toby was safe. He was so little. Besides, I was what, 15? What exactly would you have done with a child?"

The Goblin King nodded. "You were so young. That would surely have been an issue. Now you're grown. You've seen some of how life can hurt you and how precious dreams are, how hard they are to hold on to. So I wonder, would you make the same choice again?"

"If you asked me now?" said Sarah. She thought for a moment "I guess I would."

"Why?" asked the Goblin King, intrigued.

"Because if it meant saving my brother I'd have to do it again. Besides, my dreams are different now."

The Goblin King was paying attention. He pondered over her answer for a minute, and nodded. "I see. But I left you with the ability to return any time you wanted. You remember what Hoggle told you."

Sarah nodded. "I do."

"No one else who entered the Labyrinth has been granted that ability. But then, no one has ever beaten my Labyrinth, so it was your prize. So why did you never return?" he asked her, frowning as he watched her.

Sarah sighed. Were they getting philosophical now? "I guess… it was too hard. It was the moment I realised I had to put my childish things away. The Labyrinth was a part of it. I guess I knew if I returned, I'd never leave again." she said finally, truthfully.

"Hmmm" said the Goblin King. He looked out of the window for a moment, satisfied. "Had you returned, I would not have _let_ you leave again." He returned his gaze, his eyes boring into hers. "You were indeed a child. But you're a woman now." Then he smiled. "It's going rather well so far, isn't it?" he grinned.

Sarah was starting to relax a little. She played with her hands on her lap for a moment. "Okay, I have a question." she said.

The Goblin King waved his hand. "This is what it's all about."

"Has no one else beaten the Labyrinth since?"

Jareth rested both his gloved hands on his swagger stick as he leaned in. "No one ever has, not before or since. You were the only one. The only victor. Smart, cunning, beautiful. I threw everything I had at you and you still beat me. I do not do well with defeat, and you defeated me in more ways than one. I would not even have guessed it when I first appeared in front of you as you cowered in your parent's bedroom. You looked like all the others who wished a child away, and I felt nothing. I pitied you a little, you seemed so pathetic. But you, Sarah, turned out to be something else entirely."

The intensity of his gaze left Sarah frozen for a moment. "Just a yes or no would have been fine." she said at last.

Jareth laughed again. "You are very entertaining." The carriage suddenly slowed. "We're here." he said.

"Leave your things and come with me, the goblins will take care of them." He stepped out of the carriage, brushing his coat behind him as he did so. He turned to reach a hand out for Sarah to take. She carefully stepped out into the darkness, trying to find her bearings. They were in a forest, and in front of them, out of the blackness shone a magnificent castle.

It looked much more beautiful than the castle at the center of the Labyrinth. Sarah stared at it, until she felt Jareth's hair brush against her cheek as he said "Welcome to my castle, Sarah."

"Are we in the Underground or above it?" she asked carefully. "Somewhere in between." replied Jareth adjusting the gathered cuffs of his sleeves. He was wearing a white shirt cut low as usual with a deep blue velvet jacket over the top, accompanied by his usual extra tight riding breeches.

He turned to walk, pausing for her as he offered his arm. "Come," he said. "Let's go inside."

Sarah shook her head "It's ok, I can find my way" she said confidently before immediately stumbling in the dark. Jareth swiftly stopped her fall with the arm he had offered. Sarah felt a thrill rush through her as her hand touched the dark blue velvet of his sleeve. "You really ought not to be so stubborn." he said.

The castle was like something out of her dreams. Ornate carvings covered every wall. Grand chandeliers with black and clear crystals hung from every ceiling. Then Sarah noticed. Goblins. Goblins everywhere. They scurried to and fro tending to this and knocking over something else.

"What the…" Sarah instinctively tightened her grip on the Goblin King's arm. He smiled as he felt her do this. _This is cosy indeed, _he thought.

"Don't mind them," said Jareth "They're quite well trained." A chicken ran across the hall, followed by an angry goblin calling after it.

"I suppose dinner got away." he said, unbuttoning his jacket as he strode. Sarah couldn't understand how he looked so bored by it all. Her eyes grew wide trying to take it in.

It was an incredible castle. Jareth led her into the main room. It was enormous. The floor was covered with huge velvet cushions and a fireplace as tall as herself roared at one end. "Here we are." said Jareth. "Make yourself comfortable."

Sarah walked around, awe struck. "You live here?"

"Not often," said Jareth, standing to face her with his hands on his hips. "Only when I can get away from my duties." He watched Sarah staring around herself, and his eyes wandered to the way the buttons on her coat strained at her waist. It fitted her like a glove. Her fingers absent mindedly traveled to the buttons and she started to undo them one at a time, still looking around. Jareth drank in every movement greedily.

When she was done, she shrugged the coat off and was stood in a tight black turtleneck, the long grey skirt and brown boots. If she'd tried to dress to hide her body, she'd failed. "Outstanding." Jareth muttered to himself.

Sarah turned around. "Did you say something?"

"No. Please, make yourself at home."

Sarah looked around and settled on a large purple cushion. She sat on the floor and slipped her boots off as the Goblin King walked over to a cabinet on the far side of the room and poured a drink from the bottle she had given him. He walked back over to her with two chunky glasses in his hand.

"Hand carved by my goblins from Underground crystal. Let's try some of your wine."

Sarah took her glass. The Goblin King spread himself out opposite her, one arm slung over his knee.

"So do you have more questions?"

"Yes" said Sarah, setting down the glass on the wooden floor. She hugged her knees to herself. "Who made the Labyrinth?"

Jareth snorted. "No one knows. The Labyrinth wasn't made. It just is. Since I own it as part of my kingdom, I have the power to populate it as I wish and change it as I wish."

"Do you do that often? Change the Labyrinth when someone's in it? That's kind of like cheating, right?" said Sarah.

"To be honest with you I've never had to tamper with it. No one ever got as far as you did before." said Jareth, shifting so that he was little closer to her.

Sarah cocked her head to one side, rubbing a finger on her temple. "What's it like being king of the Underground?" she asked.

Jareth shook his head, smirking. "Hard. It isn't all fun and games and dancing around your castle as you might imagine. I very rarely get to meet any intelligent company, and rarer still company as delightful as yours."

"It can't be all that bad, look at this place!" said Sarah, smiling without realising it. Jareth watched her "This is a perk of the job which I have worked hard to earn. And right now I'd give it up if it meant I could see you smile in my company more often."

Sarah decided to hold her ground. She kept smiling.

"Being a king is hard work. My kingdom is not a very peaceful one," said Jareth, sweeping up to walk to a wall where several swords hung. He removed one and began to swing it expertly.

"Luckily the rules of battle are simple. Stun, disarm, conquer." he said, bringing the sword's tip down into the wooden floor with a loud crack. He freed it and came to sit back down in front of her.

"Warfare is not really that complex. After so many years of training the movements become automatic." he said, sitting in front of her cross legged. Jareth pulled out a cloth and began to polish the sword.

"Before that of course, you have to learn your adversary, predict their next move. Their strengths, weaknesses," he said, not breaking his gaze from her as he worked his fingers on the blade. "Their deepest desires. Then you wait for them to make one single mistake, and they fall right into your arms. It's not all bad," he said, slowly sweeping the cloth up the blade of the sword. "I find war is a very powerful aphrodisiac."

"Okay, can you just stop that?" Sarah snapped, trying to pull her mind away from the mesmerising movements of Jareth's hands.

"Stop what?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Can you stop... rubbing your sword like that? It's very distracting!"

"Oh?" said Jareth, pretending to be troubled. He stopped. "Perhaps you would like to... rub my sword?" he said, his voice dripping with suggestiveness.

"What? No! I'm not touching that?"

"Why not? Go on, try it. You might find it awakens the animal in you." he said, holding the handle out to her and smiling.

_Snap out of it you idiot! _

"Huh?"

"Why Sarah, you're blushing. Do you need some air?" asked Jareth, toying with her.

"I'm fine!" snapped Sarah. "It's just a bit warm in here." She got up and padded across the floor. _Take deep breaths, you're not some hormonal teenager, get it together, Sarah!_

Jareth watched as she stood with her back turned to him, trying to collect her thoughts. _Time to have some fun. _With a flourish of his hand, the flames of the fire began to leap higher.

"You like games, don't you Sarah? You have a very playful nature. So why do you suppress it?"

"I don't suppress anything!" she answered, turning around.

The Goblin King rose and moved closer to her. Sarah tried to even her breathing. Where had all those noisy goblins gone? "Then let's play a little game, shall we?"

"Okay, sure!" said Sarah defiantely. "What are we playing for?"

"It's very simple. I bet that I can make you say my name, and that I'll be on top of you, tonight, in front of this fireplace while you say it." challenged Jareth.

"What? What kind of bet is that?" said Sarah.

"Are you scared you'll lose?" smirked Jareth.

"Forget it. I'll play your dumb game, and I bet that I won't say your name at all. You can't make me do something I don't want to do." she said firmly, and it was true. Unless he used magic, there was no way she'd be saying his name, especially not like that. "So let's play." she said.

"I'll show you my skill with a sword, and then you show me yours."

"That's not fair! I don't know what to do with a sword!' said Sarah, standing with her hands on her hips.

Jareth clutched his sword, moving the blade to slowly trace the outline of her body in the air "Oh but I could teach you _everything_ you need to know… and in the meantime, I'm sure you'll find something to do with my sword." he said teasingly. "Shall I go first?" he asked.

Sarah threw her hands up. "Be my guest!" she said sarcastically.

Jareth lept away, moving sword through the air. Sarah watched, fascinated. Decades, perhaps centuries of practice had made him an expert. His movements were almost like a dance as he fought an invisible enemy.

He began to speak "You intrigue me, dear Sarah." She could see his brow furrow as he moved, the muscles in his legs straining as he changed direction with impressive agility. "You human women make matters of the flesh so complex when they really don't need to be."

"No I don't!" answered Sarah.

"Really? Then why defy me at every step you rebellious little creature?" The sword swooped alarmingly close. Sarah flinched.

"Or maybe, you're not rebellious at all. Perhaps, after all you are still just an ordinary little girl, cowering before me, playing by the rules, afraid of her own shadow." He could sense her getting angry. It was working.

"I'm a long way from that little girl. Don't forget I beat you." she replied, turning as he swirled around her.

"You did. Fair. and. square." said Jareth, slashing his sword delicately as he came to a stop in front of her.

Sarah looked down. Jareth has expertly cut two long slits on either side of her skirt, right up her thighs until the edge of her black lacy underwear was just visible. "Black lace," he murmured, raising an eyebrow "A classic choice."

She jerked her head back up at him, furious. "Why did you do that! That was my favorite skirt!" she yelled.

"And it was so nice of you to wear it for me. Aren't you impressed that I did that without putting a single scratch on you?" he asked rhetorically. Sarah clenched her fists, and Jareth shifted his weight. "So show me what you've got, little girl." he said, tossing his sword mindlessly at her.

Sarah caught it deftly. Her temper had taken over now. "Oh I'll show you what I can do with a sword." she said through gritted teeth. She looked around wildly. _Think, Sarah, think. _

Finally an idea came to her. She held the blade of the sword in both hands and weighed it up. Satisfied, she nodded.

"I'll need music." she said.

Jareth cocked his head to one side, arms folded. "Music? I think you'll find there's no music on the battlefield." he smirked.

"Not all battles are fought on a battlefield, Great King." Sarah shot back. "So. Music please."

Jareth was curious now. His eyes twinkled in the flames from the fire place. "As you wish. Think of any piece of music, and it shall start playing."

Sarah closed her eyes and steadied herself. She took a deep breath and was surprised when the music she had in mind began to play.

Jareth watched her as she stood still, eyes closed with the sword still held horizontal in both hands. _What is she doing? _he wondered. Slowly, she began to sway from side to side. She held the sword out directly in front of her, and slowly, ritualistically, raised it over her head.

Sarah began to turn in a slow circle, bringing the sword gently down to rest on her head. Jareth watched her sure hands gently release their grip on their sword as she brought them down in a smooth arc. The sword stayed in place.

Now he realised what she was doing. She was dancing. It was a dance he had never seen before in any realm. Sarah swayed her arms and rolled her hips. She left the music vibrate through her and danced with the passion of someone dancing as if their life depended on it. Feeling surer now, she half opened her eyes, lost in the music. Her skirt flared out as she spun, offering glimpses of her long legs beneath.

Jareth was captivated. She flitted across the floor, stopping sometimes to stand completely still while a vibration seemed to pass from the ground through her hips. Her face was blissful, as if in her element.

The music built and beads of sweat ran from her brow. Still she kept dancing. Jareth found he couldn't tear his eyes from her. As the music reached its height, Sarah began to turn faster and faster. She spun now, raising her hands back to the sword, turning until she was within touching distance of the Goblin King. The moment the music hit its finale, she whipped the sword from her head and fell to her knees in front of Jareth, bringing the blade to touch the medallion on his chest.

Silence descended on the room as Sarah and Jareth faced each other. Sarah was panting from her effort, triumphant. "Now, what was it you said?" she asked finally "Stun, disarm, conquer? So how's that for using a sword?"

There was split second in her saying this and Jareth reacting. Quick as lightning, he dashed the sword from his chest with his forearm and grabbed Sarah's wrists, expertly bringing her to the ground as he rolled on top of her. The sword clattered to the ground. "Jareth!" she exclaimed, shocked.

"Very good, Sarah," whispered Jareth "But you made one mistake. You forgot the part of me having done this for so long that the movements become reflex. You forgot to anticipate my next move."

The fireplace roared behind them. Sarah lay there, immobilized by the weight of Jareth on top of her. He had pressed himself into her, her legs now bare on either side of him as her skirt fell away. His grip on her wrists was firm.

"Oh my precious Sarah, do you realise what you just did?" he whispered. It took a second for Sarah to realise, and she closed her eyes and groaned. She'd said his name. He held her firmly in place as he leaned in and whispered "I believe I just won the bet." he said. The kiss he planted on her neck just below her ear made Sarah catch her breath. She felt like she was on fire as she felt the will to fight desert her body, lying helpless on the floor.

_Just let it happen_ said a voice in her head _just let it happen._


	9. Chapter 9: Oh You Pretty Little Things

_Author's note: I had to break this into two chapters, and posting this now because I feel driven to do it after the shock of yesterday's news :( more to come later, for now I better get back to some work before I get fired from the day job!_

Sarah felt the heat rise inside her as the fireplace crackled. Her animal instinct had taken over, relishing the weight of a man against her body, feeling drunk on the chemistry between them. This hadn't been part of her plan. Or maybe it had all along. She didn't even know any more.

Jareth looked at her like a cat toying with a mouse. "Now then, what have we here?" he said, not changing his grip on her. "It looks like I won after all, you pretty little thing, and now it's time to claim my prize." he said. "You didn't say there was a prize at the end of it." she murmured as they lay there, perfectly still.

"My palace, my rules." replied Jareth, gently kissing her neck again. "So what should I do with you now that I've got you where I want you, hmmm?" he asked. He was toying with her, she could sense it. He pinned her legs to the ground with his knees, moving them wider apart as he shifted downward. His strength was surprising to Sarah.

Sarah's mind was ablaze with a thousand different conflicting thoughts as she felt his hair brush against her face. She opened her eyes, and Jareth noted with pleasure that they were clouded over with her desire.

"Should I take you to my bedchambers? Should I undress you right here? Should I do it with magic or without? I doubt I'll need to use any magic to enhance the sensations, I can see you are already burning with desire. So many choices, so many ways…"

"I'll scream." she whispered, her heart pounding.

"Nobody would hear you." said Jareth gently "Besides, making you scream is the result I was hoping for." He took her hand and began to kiss each finger one by one.

_Oh my God! _Sarah was so turned on now she couldn't even think straight any more. She'd never felt anything like this. She had to find some way of resisting him. _This has got to be a trap. _"You're very sure of yourself." she said.

"And you're very stubborn. And if you really didn't want this, you'd be fighting me right now." said Jareth. It was true. Sarah had gone limp in his embrace and his hold on her wrists was now barely perceptible.

"You said we'd get to know each other better." she breathed, struggling to put her thoughts together through the waves of desire overtaking her.

"That's exactly what we're doing." he continued, releasing her wrists and turning her head to kiss the other side of her neck.

Jareth has taken his gloves off now, Sarah hadn't even noticed when. Trails of electricity seemed to jump from his touch. He began to trace a finger down her collarbone.

"I'm so… hot!" Sarah moaned, her face flushed. The fireplace raged next to them, and the combination of her body's reaction was making her feel faint.

"Yes, you are. Such a pity you're wearing this particular shirt, Sarah." said Jareth, dragging his finger lower still. "Do you want me to stop?"

_No! Yes! Do I want him to stop? Oh god stop talking Jareth and just do it now!_

"Do you at least know _why_ you'd want me to stop?" said Jareth, paused as he was, tracing lines around her jawline.

In the end Sarah managed to say nothing, and while she struggled with her thoughts, Jareth began to tut.

"Tsk tsk tsk, so conflicted. Well I'll make it easier for you." To Sarah's surprise, he began to ease himself off her body, drawing her up as he went. Jareth looked at her, a low, throaty laugh escaping from deep within his chest.

Sarah could barely stand, and Jareth felt the weight of her grip on him. He widened his eyes, feigning surprise "Sarah, Sarah! You've only been in my castle an hour and you've already tried to seduce me! Let's at least have dinner first."

"Wait! What? What was that about?" Sarah tried to get a grip on her scattered thoughts. How could the Goblin King have done almost nothing to her and driven her half out of her mind with desire?

Jareth stood facing her now, and he brushed a strand of her messed up hair off her forehead. His eyes danced with mirth, but Sarah detected the faintest trace of softness in them.

"I make my own rules Sarah. You should know that I just did something completely out of character."

Sarah searched his face. "You've never tried to seduce a woman in your castle? I find that a little hard to believe…"

"I do as I please. If I want a woman, I have her." said Jareth abruptly. "Sarah, had I continued, the chemistry you feel for me and my expertise would have certainly ensured your pleasure." he said, leaning in for emphasis "_Intensely._ But, how upset would you have been with me tomorrow?"

Sarah looked away. She knew he was right. "I would have been furious with you."

"Would you have trusted my motives again?"

"No." said Sarah.

"That, and only that, is why I stopped when I did." murmured Jareth. She could feel the animalistic gaze of his eyes on her. "You ought to read less of those silly romance books you read, where forceful men take protesting women. I can tell you first hand there is no fun to be had in seducing a woman who isn't entirely giving herself up to you. And either way, you shall be sleeping with me tonight. In my bedchambers."

"But you just said… Why exactly would I do that!" said Sarah. Her dizziness was starting to dispel.

Jareth rolled his eyes as if trying to explain something to an idiot and continued with a playful tone in his voice. "Explain to me, fair maiden, what was the point of bringing you all this way if we were to sleep in separate rooms? We can do that without all this. You could stay above ground, and I could stay under it. It's what you humans call dating or something, is it not?"

As Sarah clasped and unclasped her fingers, trying to think of a way out, Jareth smiled inwardly. _Time to put her out of her misery_. "I said _sleep_." he repeated.

Sarah looked at him uncertainly. "And no tricks? No magic?"

Jareth breathed deeply, staring down at her. "As hard as it is for me to say this, anything more shall be entirely up to you. You have my word."

Sarah could picture the scene with an irate Rosa telling her what a fool she was for allowing their moment of heat to cool like this. But she knew herself, and she knew Jareth was right.

"By the way," said Jareth at last "I truly have not seen a sword used that way. You're very skillful." He held his chin, tracing a finger under his lip. Sarah recognised this as him giving her some more ground. "Thank you," she said "I practiced a lot…"

"They say you can tell a lot about what someone would be like in bed from the way they dance. It might be that you teach me some new tricks too." said Jareth with a wink.

As if on cue, the heavy door to the room rumbled open. They both turned to the direction of the noise. A goblin scuttled in excitedly.

"Dinner is served, my Lord!" he said triumphantly. Behind him, several goblins filed in and began messily layng various items on the room's long table.

Jareth leaned in and whispered to Sarah "They get so excited every time they serve a meal. It's quite sweet, really." He turned to the goblin. "That will be all. Dismissed."

The goblins excitedly began to file back out of the room, whispering among themselves and turning to look at Sarah.

When they were gone, Jareth turned back to her "We don't often get visitors. Shall we eat?"

Sarah took her seat, trying to act as calmly as she could, as if nothing had happened, but Jareth continued to smile at her knowingly.

"Let's go back a step." he said, pouring some more wine. "Tell me Sarah, what was your favourite part of my Labyrinth, apart from our encounters, of course." he smiled.

"I didn't get a lot of time to think about what I liked, I was kind of busy in case you forget." replied Sarah, holding his gaze. She couldn't get the image of them sprawled on the floor from moments ago out of her head, and dug her nails into her hands to stop the red she knew was starting to flush her face again.

"Well there must have been _something_." pressed Jareth.

Sarah pondered for a minute as she pushed her food around her plate. "Actually," she said "It was very… glittery. And I liked the fairies, and now that I think of it, the thing I liked best was…" she stopped suddenly, catching her words as they raced out of her.

"The thing you liked best was?" said Jareth, gesturing for her to continue.

Sarah swallowed. She met his gaze again. "The ballroom. I liked that a lot. Loved it actually. But it wasn't real, it was a dream. It wasn't part of the Labyrinth so it doesn't count." she forced her face to stay expressionless and went back to focusing on her dinner.

Jareth smiled knowingly. "You know," he said "That was _my_ favourite part too. And you're wrong, the ballroom may very well have been a dream I sent you, but the dream was fashioned out of reality."

"You mean it's real?"

"Very real. It's in my castle in the Labyrinth, and known for kingdoms around for the balls I throw there. My balls are famous. You should come and enjoy them, outside of a dream. They're really quite something." he said, biting his lip as he grinned.

"There's no need to be crude!" snapped Sarah.

"Crude? I merely stated you should attend one of my balls. But I wouldn't dance like you just did. Fae people are very sensuous. Every male in the ballroom would be clamouring to have you. I doubt I'd be able to stop them."

"Are morals really so loose in the Underworld?" asked Sarah, concerned. "Do you all just go around… fairy-whoring all day and all night? How do you ever get anything else done?"

Jareth roared with laughter. "Fairy-whoring! My goodness you're amusing. No Sarah, we just don't take it as seriously as you humans do. It's just pleasure, why not take it. And don't forget, kingdoms aren't often peaceful places. So when the opportunity for pleasure comes along, we take it. Why should that be so shocking?" he said simply. This made surprising sense to Sarah.

"Any more questions?" he said, drumming the table with his bare fingers.

"Yes, the most important one. You're a king, you're powerful, you have your own kingdom. You claim to be very busy, so why do you spirit away little children? For sport?" said Sarah, clasping her glass in both hands.

No sooner had she asked the question when Sarah began to feel she'd made a mistake. The Goblin King looked down at his glass. He downed it in one, and then poured some more from the bottle on the table.

After what seemed like an eternity, he began to speak. "Sarah," he said "I will answer your question, but to do that, I must go back further. To the story of how I became king."

Sarah's brow furrowed as she placed her elbows on the table, ready to listen.

"Like I told you, our kings are chosen for their success, courage and intelligence in the battlefield. When I was chosen as king, there was another candidate. In fact, the Underground had bet on him being king, not me."

"So what happened?"

"The man who was supposed to be king was my closest friend. He came from a very powerful family. I took a blow to protect his life, and almost lost my own in the process. For this, the existing king decided to make me king instead. But this enraged my former ally."

Sarah said nothing, so Jareth went on, "His name is Cenric. He was made king of the third realm, but he had wanted my kingdom. My kingdom may not be much to look at, but it is very rich in natural resources. Since his rank was higher and his power stronger, he put a curse on my kingdom. My people can have no children. The only way for their race to survive is for me to take human children and turn them into goblins."

"And… you?" Sarah stuttered.

"The curse extends to me as well. Until I break it, I can sire no children. The goblins may test my patience and they may be tiresome to govern, but they dote on their young. I could not simply watch them suffer and die out. Their dilemma was because of me alone. So I went to an oracle, and this was the only solution she could offer." he gazed into his glass, rolling around the dregs of wine.

"So, do you still think being King is as much fun as it appears to be?"

"Wow…" said Sarah. "I thought you just took them to be a jerk."

At last Jareth smiled again. "There is so much that you don't know. Anyway, it's late, why don't we retire?"

Sarah got up and followed Jareth. She was painfully aware of his gaze on her, of the breeze brushing her legs as her movements threw open the slits in her skirt. Jareth stopped at the door and opened it. "Go left and walk for 15 lanterns. I'm right behind you."

"Shouldn't you lead the way?" she asked.

"I want to watch you walk." he replied, fixing her with a hungry gaze.

Sarah began to walk down the dark corridor lit only with dim lanterns on each side. She walked slowly, agonisingly aware of the Goblin King watching her every move. _Act normal, walk normally! _Did her hips really sway like that? What did she walk like normally? She couldn't remember.

Sarah kept her head high as if balancing a book on it and walked on, as if in a trance. _Say something, make some banal conversation _she willed herself.

"Do you like hunting?" she asked.

"I _love_ it." the voice behind her said huskily. She could hear the dull, lazy thud of his boots behind her, matching her steps. "The part I like best is stalking my prey."

Sarah closed her eyes as a wave of heat swept through her. Five lanterns.

"Do you hunt for sport or for hunger?" she asked.

"Both." came the reply. "Sometimes I like to hunt for fun, sometimes I like to devour my quarry."

Eight lanterns.

"Is it hard?" she asked, feeling light headed, not knowing herself where the questions come from.

"It can get painfully, painfully hard depending on the right prey."

Eleven lanterns. Twelve. Sarah realised her face was flushed, her hands clammy. She gasped as she felt Jareth's hands on her shoulders. "But the release that comes with the final thrust of my sword is worth every second. Especially when hunter and prey are so well matched." _What a surprise you are, Sarah. _

Fifteen. "We're here." he said, guiding Sarah to the doors on her right. Her hands instinctively reached out and pushed them open to reveal an enormous bedchamber. Candles covered every surface. To one end was a ornately carved four post bed facing the side of the room that had a huge window.

"Welcome to my boudoir." he said, releasing his grip on her shoulders.

Then Sarah noticed the bathtub right in the center of the room. It was already filled with hot water and various small bottles lay lined up on its edge.

"Your things are here." said Jareth. "Why don't you take a bath and relax for the night?"

Sarah whirled around. "Here? In front of you?"

"I won't look." said Jareth, a devilish smile appearing on his lips. "Don't you trust me?" Sarah wordlessly went to her night bag. She wanted something to cover her legs, no longer sure she could trust her body not to betray her.

She undid the zip, and found the contents of her bag a mess. She looked up, open mouthed. "Someone went through my bag!"

Jareth didn't look impressed. "I had the goblins search it for me."

"That's so rude! Why would you do that?" she yelled.

"Because you're sleeping in my bedchambers, and I am responsible for the operation of an entire kingdom. I would not compromise my security. How do I know you weren't carrying a weapon? For all I know you could be an assassin." he said sharply, his hands on his hips.

"You don't trust me?" asked Sarah, trying to disguise the shock in her voice.

"Not a nice feeling, is it?" asked Jareth. _Aha _thought Sarah. She looked at the pile of crumpled clothes in her hands and pulled out a pair of pyjamas. She'd come this far, she might as well put him to the test.

"Turn around" she said.

Jareth walked over to the bathtub and sat at the furthest edge with his back turned to Sarah. "I'm going to sit here, and I assure you I won't turn around."

Could Sarah really do this? _Only one way to find out_. She quickly slipped out of her clothes until she was naked and paced over to the bathtub.


	10. Chapter 10: Wicked

_AN: I am so thrilled with the reviews I've been getting! I wrote about 3 different versions of this chapter but I thought it was time for what follows. A straight up warning, very adult themes follow if you're easily offended or underage. Let the fun begin!_

Sarah reached the edge of her tub and paused as she was about to lift a leg into it. "Don't turn around." she ordered.

"As much as I want to, I gave you my word." said Jareth, holding up both his hands.

Sarah looked at the water shimmering in the white tub. Swirls of steam rose off it which carried bursts of beautiful scents. She leaned down by the tub, placing her hands on the rim and closing her eyes to take a deep breath.

"This smells really good. I can't imagine you running this, so who did?" she asked.

"My handmaidens did." replied Jareth. "They prepared the whole room, actually, on orders that it was for a special guest. It's an exact replica of my bedchambers in the castle at the center of the Labyrinth. Well, except for the extra touches tonight."

Sarah looked up from the water feeling a stab of jealousy. "You… you have handmaidens?"

"All bachelor kings do. They assist me with my bathing and dressing if required. You're not jealous now, are you?"

A sarcastic smile danced across Sarah's lips. "Jealous? No, I was just wondering how it is that you can't even bathe yourself, Jareth. God, you must be spoilt."

"Oooh you insolent little creature. I should have you stripped and chained to the wall for that."

"I'm already naked." said Sarah.

"Then you've done half my work for me. And now I have the image of you chained to the wall in my head. I could do it, and do whatever I felt like it to you afterwards, but I'll forgive this first offence as I am generous, and now you're not sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed." said Jareth, the smile obvious in his voice.

Sarah rolled her eyes. She was enjoying this game between them in spite of herself. _Could I dare to start relaxing around him a little? _

"You won't be chaining me to anything tonight, Jareth. Sorry if that bursts your drugged-out glass ballroom bubble."

"I am more than adept at caring for my own needs." continued Jareth "It's simply protocol. I thought you'd appreciate the more feminine scents they chose for you. And Sarah, if you stand there naked saying my name much longer, I might not be able to stay sat her."

Sarah stood up, a warm breeze sending her hair floating as she did. She smoothly got into the tub. It felt wonderful, certainly better than her own mouldy shower.

"So you said I could leave whenever I wanted. How does that work? I don't think the Northern Line comes this far out, does it?" she asked, sinking herself lower into the hot water.

She saw Jareth nod. "Oh I adore your sarcasm." he drawled. "I did indeed say so. Here." He swept his hand out, and from the corner of the room, a crystal came rolling out across the wooden floor, sparkling in the candle light. Except this one was different to all the other ones he had ever shown her. This one was made of blue glass.

"The moment you clasp this crystal with both your hands, you shall be instantly transported back to your _lovely_ little abode. Though I doubt you'll need that. Does that satisfy you?"

"It does." said Sarah, feeling more reassured.

"Oh, all the ways in which I could satisfy you. My imagination is running wild." said Jareth, bringing a hand up to his temple.

"Are you always so _suggestive?" _asked Sarah, trying to concentrate on her bath.

"Always. You're a beautiful woman, and I'm extremely attracted to you. You humans are so hung up about these things, and you're free to lie to yourself all you want, but I don't see any reason to disguise my desire for you." said Jareth.

Sarah felt herself blushing. "_Please_ don't tell me you were perving over me in the Labyrinth. I was just a child." she hissed.

"Sarah, I have my desires, but I'm not a monster. You piqued my interest the second you strode off towards the Labyrinth, but all I did back then was spot your potential for the incredibly desirable woman you would one day become. And I was right."

"Oh?" said Sarah, latching on the first half of his comment and trying to ignore the second. "What was it about the way I walked off to the Labyrinth?"

"Well," said Jareth "We'll have to go into a little bit of background before I tell you that. Why don't you get out first."

"Why should I?" asked Sarah defensively.

"Because it might take a little while, first of all, and secondly I know for a fact that one of the oils the handmaidens added to that tub is slipperwood, a very powerful Underground aphrodisiac. Sit in there much longer and you'll be tearing my clothes off. Not that I would mind, but.."

Sarah was out of the tub before he could finish and quickly began to dry her body while he laughed. It was a strange sensation, being so close to him, so exposed, while he just sat there. It shouldn't have made any sense, but somehow it didn't feel wrong either. She quickly stooped down to pick up the blue crystal with one hand, making sure she didn't touch it with both. She wasn't ready to leave just yet.

She pulled out a long purple nightdress and pulled it over herself, ignoring the gaudy babydoll Rosa had bought her and wrestled into her bag - "It'll bring you luck!" - despite Sarah's howls of protest.

"Are you decent?" called out Jareth.

"Yes."

"What a pity." Jareth got up from the floor in one movement. He walked over to a large wardrobe to the side of the room and without warning, began pulling his shirt off.

Sarah quickly looked down while he changed. "A warning might have been nice." she said.

"Oh please, Sarah, as if you don't really want to look." replied Jareth smugly. "I'm dressed, but I'm really not decent, not at all, and I would like to be horribly indecent with you."

Sarah rolled her eyes, and carefully raised her eyes up. Jareth was walking towards her, and she realised she was sitting on the huge bed now. The bed which he was approaching. He was dressed differently now. His clothes were looser, made of some sort of white cotton, though the deep V of his shirt remained even for his night clothes, showing the medallion glinting against his skin.

_Don't panic, you're just talking that's all._

"So back to your question. Let me tell you what normally happens during a wish-away." said Jareth. "The wishers-away fall into two categories, those who immediately recognised what they were up against and chose my gift of their dreams to forget the child, and those who thought they could tackle the Labyrinth.

"Out of the second, three quarters took one look at my Labyrinth and realised they didn't stand a chance. One quarter made the attempt, but it was your approach that was unique. Normally people cry, they take faltering steps, they beg me to change my mind. You were the first to march off like you were going to battle. You didn't even look backwards. I've always wondered, weren't you scared, Sarah?"

Sarah leaned back on her hands. "No. I mean, yes I was, I was terrified. But you have to understand, things were so difficult at home. Toby was all I had left. So I was ready to do whatever I had to to get him back. If I lost Toby, then I'd be alone in the world. That's really how I felt." said Sarah, glancing at Jareth. surprised to find him sitting next to her listening attentively. His face was serious, but Sarah noticed his gaze had softened. Her brow was knoted from remembering her emotions from so many years ago, the abject terror of Toby being gone and all because of her.

"I see," said Jareth, nodding. "How is young Toby now?"

Sarah looked into the distance and smiled thinking about her adorable little brother and how much she missed him. "He's great. He's sweet and funny. He's just… a typical little boy. I love him." She thought for a moment, then asked "Jareth, when you took Toby, was he scared? When I was in the Labyrinth, I felt like I would go out of my mind thinking about how scared he must have been."

Jareth clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. "When the child is wished away, all fear is extinguished when they pass through to our realm. It was always so."

"But I heard him cry."

"He was hungry. We fed him. The children wished away are always cared for exceptionally well. I told you, goblins dote on their children."

That made Sarah feel better. Lost in her thoughts, she sat up on the bed, tucking her feet under herself and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She talked without Jareth asking her anything.

"The Labyrinth… I had spent my whole childhood reading the fairytales about it. My father and stepmother even thought I was too much into it. They thought I prefered that world to the real one. And in a way I did. The real thing was a lot harder than I thought it would be. But you know… once I was there, I just felt -"

"Like you belonged." said Jareth cutting her off.

Sarah looked at him. "Yeah. I can't explain it. I've not felt that again, anywhere."

Jareth smiled at her gently. "Maybe," he said "That's why you're here now."

"Why _am _I here, Jareth?" asked Sarah, looking straight into his mismatched eyes, and watching the knowing smile spread across his face. He moved closer now, and Sarah closed her eyes feeling his weight shift the bed. _Why is it so damn quiet in here!_

Jareth took her hand and began drawing small circles on her wrist as he spoke. "You're here because I spent seven years waiting for you to come of age. I longed for that moment. I dreamt of it. And I know you've dreamt of me. You're here because I wanted to see those eyes look at me, I wanted to see those lips smile. I wanted to see this pulse, here on your neck," his finger quickly tapped her skin "I wanted to see it and know that you're here, warm, real, and I wanted to make it beat faster."

He brought her hand up gently to his lips as he spoke and began to trail a soft line of kisses from her wrist towards her elbow, pushing her sleeve slowly out of the way as he did. Sarah gripped the blue crystal next to her, wondering how badly the scooped neckline of her nightgown was showing her burning blush as her body began to run riot once more to the Goblin King's touch.

"But the real reason," said Jareth "Why you're really here, what this is all about, and why I gave you this key" He pressed just below her breasts, finding the key under her clothes as usual and Sarah drew her breath in spite of herself. She felt herself unable to resist as he pulled her down onto the bed. It was now that she saw the ornately painted ceiling of Jareth's bedchambers, but it didn't register. All she could think, all she could feel was Jareth and the electricity between them, so thick she felt faint. _Fight. Don't fight. The crystal. I should just… oh my god._

"The real reason is" said Jareth "I actually don't know."

Jareth's words made it through the haze of Sarah's desire. "Wha.. huh?" She looked at Jareth, puzzled. He was leaning up on one arm, a mischievous grin on his face having extracted the reaction he'd been aiming for.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she asked, frowning.

"Well when you beat my Labyrinth, I knew there had to be more to you than meets the eye. You see Sarah, that Labyrinth is not just for fun and games and stealing babies. It's there to protect my kingdom. You beating it was a serious breach to our security."

Sarah listened, still frowning.

"I had to hold a council with all my advisors and answer to them as to what had gone wrong. But none of us could work it out. We questioned everyone you interacted with."

"Did… did they get into trouble for helping me?" asked Sarah, thinking back to the friends who'd helped her along the way.

"No. We merely wanted to find out how you did it. They just accompanied you, none of them actually helped you solve the Labyrinth. But there was one resident who got us all thinking. Do you remember the wise old man? You gave him something."

Sarah knew immediately who he was talking about. "The wise man with the bird on his head. I gave him a ring. What about him?"

"He requested a special council with me. He is a lower-band oracle. We have several levels. The highest live Aboveground for their own safety. It was he who insisted you were not just an ordinary girl."

Jareth was still holding Sarah's hand as he spoke. She looked at the ceiling again, trying to make sense of what Jareth was telling her.

"On his advice we sent a relay message through to our highest oracle. It took three years, and another three for her to respond. She sent just the key I gave you, word about your mother's "A" and to wait for an audience with her."

"But… I don't understand."

"It's my gift to you, Sarah. An audience with the High Oracle will tell you much about your life."

Sarah blinked, and Jareth sensed her disappointment. Was that what this was about? An oracle? The silence grew between them

"So…. you don't have something to tell me about my mother?" she asked finally.

"I don't, but the Oracle probably does."

"Are we going to see her?" said Sarah, glancing hopefully at the Goblin King.

"I'm waiting for her to say when." said Jareth. Seeing Sarah's brow furrow, he began to feel irritated and impatient. The Oracle was making him wait, and now her too.

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "So are you telling me that this is all to take me to see a glorified fortune teller?" said Sarah. She was confused now, and annoyed.

"Sarah, I will take you to the Oracle as soon as word comes. I'm not withholding her to make you suffer, because she told me one more thing." said Jareth, examining the lines on the palm of her hand. Her skin looked golden in the light of the candles in the room.

"What?" asked Sarah, uncertainly.

"She said our fates were intertwined." said Jareth, leaning towards her "But I think you knew that already."

Sarah was still thinking "But how could…"

"Shhhh" said Jareth, bringing a finger to her lips. "You'll get your answers. In the meantime you're here to learn to relax around me." he said, running his hands through the waves of her brown hair spread around her head. Sarah raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you act so familiar with me, Jareth?"

"Because I can. And because you're holding your way out in your left hand. Are you really so scared, Sarah?"

"No." Sarah looked at him, and let the crystal drop onto the floor.

"Liar" sneered Jareth. "I can feel your heart beating. You're like a lamb sitting in the jaws of a wolf. You _are _scared. but you're brave, and I adore that and so much more about you, you precious thing." said Jareth, his voice a low murmur.

Before she had a chance to respond, Jareth lifted her smoothly onto the center of the bed. Sarah gasped as he brought her down onto the bed, her mind racing. Jareth pressed against her, lacing his fingers with hers on either side of her head as he looked down at her, the candlelight casting shadows across his face.

"Oooooh, you're wondering now, was it a mistake to try and bluff me? Perhaps you should have held on to the crystal, hmmm?" he said, cocking his head to one side as he grinned slowly. He leaned down to kiss her neck, sending waves of desire crashing through her.

Sarah was stuck. Her mind was racing, but her body was responding to his every command. "Jareth…" she breathed "You're right. You could do anything you wanted to me. But please, don't make me sleep with you. I'm not ready. This… this isn't right." she said, squeezing her eyes shut against the intoxicating sensation of his kisses. Her hands pressed into his, their fingers locked like two halves of a whole.

"I know. I don't mean to make you feel frightened. But you are irresistible to me. I _want_ you to have all the pleasure I could possibly give you, and more."

Jareth's lips weren't on her neck any more. They were on her lips as he engulfed her in a deep, passionate kiss. Sarah arched her back, responding in spite of herself until her jaw ached. Their first kiss had been stolen. This was different. This was worth the seven year wait, thought Jareth. It paralysed her, and the voice in his mind yelling at her to _stop it right now _seemed to fade far away, drowned out by this one kiss.

When Jareth finally made himself pull away, Sarah was beside herself. She was breathing hard, her eyes closed and her cheeks blazing. He watched her dark lashes quiver as a dew of sweat began to form on her forehead. She was frowning. Why was she still frowning, he wondered.

"Don't hurt me." were the only words that Sarah was able to get out. Jareth understood then. Sarah was caught between abject desire and abject fear. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he lay his body flat against hers and whispered into her ear. "Sarah, I'm not going to claim you tonight. I won't hurt you, and I'm not going to ask anything of you. Whenever you want me to stop, I will stop. I've kept my word so far."

Jareth kissed her ear, then her jaw. He kissed her once more on her mouth, gentler this time, before moving down her chin, down to her neck where the pulse he'd mentioned before was beating out of control now. He kissed her on her collarbone and kept on going until he reached the collar on that stupid purple nightgown she'd decided to wear. _Way to make it a romantic night, Sarah! I should have listened to Rosa!_

Jareth slipped one finger over the top of the gown's neck. His other hand… where was his other hand. Sarah swallowed a moan realising it was resting at the top of her thigh. She covered her face with her hands, stifling a moan and failing to keep her body still as it hungered for more. "Remember," said Jareth, breaking the charged silence "Just tell me to stop if you want me to."

He waited a split second and when Sarah said nothing, he pulled the gown's neckline down effortlessly, exposing her to the air.

_You didn't just let him do that! _Sarah's hands stayed pressed against her eyes, her mouth unable to make any sounds apart from quiet moans.

"Good girl," he whispered, noticing her body respond. "I think we'll get along very well, you and I."

It was all Sarah could do to keep herself from screaming as she felt Jareth go to work, rocking her body into agony as his mouth closed around her exposed nipple, his hand keeping her firmly where he wanted her. And the other hand… Jareth's touch was nothing like she'd ever felt. It was a touch that knew what it wanted, and what it had to do to get it. He was keeping his promise, his touch was gentle and very sure of itself. It didn't hurt, but Sarah fought with all her might not to wrap her legs around him and beg for more. She felt like her body would melt away to nothing, like this touch was what it had hungered for all this time.

And it belonged to Jareth. This touch belonged to Jareth. She should have been running the other way screaming, but when the light strokes of Jareth's hand finally pressed down against her, Sarah could take no more. She arched her back and cried out, pushed over the edge with an intensity she never thought was possible. It should have been so wrong, but in that moment none of it mattered. She felt like she was tumbling through the skies, falling into a place she didn't know she'd been looking for.

Sarah wasn't sure how long it took for her orgasm to subside, but when she finally came to, she was holding on to Jareth for dear life, her arms wrapped around his neck, her mouth hanging open in a silent O. The bed was a mess, the sheets kicked off in every direction as she'd thrashed around under him.

"See now? That didn't hurt. Isn't it so much better this way?" said Jareth, stroking her cheek.

She suddenly felt exhausted. "You cheated" she whispered "That's… I've never… you used magic to make it feel that way."

"No I didn't" said Jareth, brushing the hair stuck to her face out of the way. "The only magic was what your own body created in response to me." He lifted her hand to his face and kissed the back of it.

"I'm supposed to hate you Jareth."

"Now where did you get a silly idea like that from? You might want to hate me, but you don't. You might even love me eventually."

Sarah sighed a long, heavy sigh. Sleep was creeping up on her, her energy completely spent. It had been too much of a strange day. She closed her eyes and turned on her side, letting her body rest against Jareth as if it had always belonged there.

"I'll get back to hating you tomorrow." she said sleepily. Jareth smiled, watching the curve of her face as he kissed her shoulder, satisfied. "Very well. Goodnight, you wicked girl." he said.


	11. Chapter 11: Show me your Markings

_**AN: I wrote the bubble sections while listening to Hallucinations from the Laby soundtrack, because watching it as an adult, the ballroom scene always breaks my heart. Trigger warning - some references to self-harm. **_

Jareth watched Sarah sleep. The speed at which things were progressing with her was taking him by surprise. He had fully expected her to tell him to stop tonight, but she hadn't. He had watched her toss and turn and bite down on her own fingers to stop herself from saying the words and it had been all he could do to hold back from doing more.

He closed his eyes, reliving the moment, relishing it. Tonight was the culmination of seven years of waiting. Tonight he did not want to ponder matters from the kingdom for too long. He wanted only to see Sarah in his mind's eye as her face flushed and she opened her mouth to cry out in ecstasy, her entire body trembling uncontrollably under his touch.

It was different with her. Jareth knew his weaknesses, he knew he could be selfish. But for some reason watching Sarah's body respond to him had given him more pleasure than any conquest he had experienced. It had made him feel satisfied, complete, in a way he never thought possible. It was simpler than carnal desire. Her mere presence was different.

It was as if Sarah had been what he had been waiting for all this time. He had never allowed anyone to spend a night in his bed. But Sarah - he wanted her close to him. There was a strong, unidentifiable force within her.

Moonlight spilled through the window onto Sarah's sleeping form. In her sleep, her nightgown had inched up her thighs again, and she slept lying this way, her shapely legs glowing in the moonlight. Jareth watched her, pondering how peacefully she slept. Why was she not afraid? In her place he would have spent the night in watchful avoidance. But she slept. Could she really be starting to trust him?

Sarah shifted, raising one of her legs against the other, bent at the knee. Inevitably, his eyes roamed to her movements, and he felt his desire rise within him. _Oh the things I could do to you, Sarah. You have no idea that this was not even a hundredth of the pleasure you could feel._ But tonight would have to be enough. He sat down on the bed, not taking his eyes off her, letting them roam over her. He looked at her legs and saw for the first time the tiny silvery lines disappearing along the inside of her thighs. Humans in the cities didn't follow tribal marking traditions. He made a mental note to mention them tomorrow, and maybe take a more intimate look.

Jareth traced a finger over one of them, smiling as Sarah shifted away from him in her sleep. He had made a promise, but that didn't mean he couldn't do whatever he liked in their dreams. Jareth smiled, setting up the dream in his mind, and with an impish grin he cast it onto her as he lay down to join her in the other realm.

...

Sarah fell out of the bed with a loud bang and woke herself up with a cry. She was drenched in sweat, breathing hard, her eyes wild. _What the hell just happened? _she wondered. She pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. Her body was taking its time to join her in wakefulness, still stuck in the dream she had just experienced.

She sat in stunned silence for a minute as the images from her dream just seconds ago swam together. Her and Jareth, intertwined as he brought her to the edge repeatedly. It wasn't as if she hadn't dreamt things like that before, but this, this had been so intense. It had been so real. She could have sworn she felt his every touch, his every kiss, felt his breath on her skin and that if she looked she'd find his marks on her skin.

Sarah tried to stand up, pushing the tangled bedsheets off herself as she got up off the floor, rubbing her head. Her fingers snagged in her hair. It was a mess from all her tossing and turning. When did she start putting so many sheets on her bed?

_Wait a second. This isn't my bed..._

She tried to steady her breathing and remembered where she was. Of course, the castle. She glanced at the bed again. Empty. _Phew. _She began to put the sheet back on the bed, trying to pull her dazed mind out of the dream she'd been enjoying moments before. _Really _ enjoying. She hoped she'd not made too much noise. Maybe she'd kicked him so hard he went to sleep somewhere else. It wasn't as if she'd ever slept the entire night at a man's house before.

She sighed deeply, biting her lip. It seemed that Jareth's presence was affecting her in more ways than one. Her self control had evaporated, and now he was running riot over her in her dreams too.

She hadn't expected any of last night to happen. It had been so sudden. At the fireplace she knew she couldn't let him go further. Just a few hours later, her resolve had crumbled. Not only that, she'd hungered for even more. She was being drawn to Jareth like metal to a magnet. And it had been everything she hoped for. It was thrilling. It was terrifying.

She'd been so lost in the moment - the bedroom, the way he was dressed, his scent, the otherness of it all. It had felt like nothing that happened here really counted… this was after all just a place strung between two realms. Now, in the light of day, things looked different. The atmospheric shadows of the room had faded. White candles stood on every surface, their little black wicks bending over apologetically.

Sarah clasped her hands together, suddenly embarrassed. A line had been crossed, and she didn't know what to do from here onwards. She'd only thought as far as coming here, not last night. Not that level of intimacy. What the hell had come over her? _What must he think of me? _she fretted. Either way, it was too late now. She shook her head, silently cursing herself for being so spontaneous. It had felt so good, and she had slept so well. But now? What next? If it had been so easy for her defences to fall, for her to _want_ them to fall, it wouldn't take much more for them to…

Sarah groaned. "You fool, Sarah." she said to herself. _Don't think about what you can't undo. Distract yourself. _The bed looked like a bomb had gone off in it. There were so many different sheets and covers - where to even begin? Sarah began to pull the sheets off the floor, glad for a few minutes alone to gather her thoughts. "What a night." she said to herself.

"Yes, it was quite fun, wasn't it?" called a voice from across the room.

Sarah yelped, dropping the sheets in fright. Jareth was sat in a large chair watching her every move.

"Good morning." he said, smiling faintly.

"Um… hi." said Sarah, looking down.

"Sleep well?" asked Jareth.

"Yes. I did." said Sarah quietly, still not looking at him.

Jareth watched her twist the edge of the bedsheet in her hands. "You don't need to do that, the handmaidens will take care of it."

"Just trying to tidy up. Sorry if I kicked you. You got up before me?"

"Actually I slept better than I've ever slept. I tend to rise early. By the way, how's your throat?" he asked slyly.

She looked up at him, surprised. "It's sore! How did you know?"

"Well, I've been sat here for the last half hour or so listening to you screaming. You must have been having _quite _a dream. You seemed to be enjoying yourself immensely. In fact, you _were_ enjoying yourself immensely." said Jareth.

Sarah looked away, blushing furiously. "What do you know about my dreams, Jareth?" she said, going back to trying to arrange the covers of the bed.

"Enough. I've been in them before, and I was in that one tonight. In fact, I sent that dream to you, so you can stop pretending you were dreaming about daisies and cupcakes when I _know_ for a fact you were dreaming of something much more delicious."

The penny finally dropped and Sarah stared at him in shock. The things they had done… the things _he _had done to her in that dream, and she had gone half out of her mind enjoying them, indulging herself, knowing it was a dream… and he knew all about it.

"You've been tampering with my dreams?" she asked, incredulous.

"I've not sent you a dream until last night. Whenever I saw you dreaming of me in the past, I would stop by to enjoy the scene. But after … _last night_… I felt I could take the step of fashioning a dream we'd both enjoy. And you did enjoy it. I can see the evidence before me.."

Sarah let her shoulders fall. She began to speak, half mumbling, not sure how to turn things around. "Look, um… about last night. I don't know what came over me. I'm not normally like that."

"Not like what?"

"Not so… er… not so easy to access."

Jareth understood now. "Aaaah, so that's it. That's why you were calling yourself a fool a few moments ago?"

Sarah nodded, fidgeting with her hands. She suddenly felt very exposed and very unsure of herself.

Jareth walked over to her slowly, looking serious, and Sarah felt herself back into the dark mahogany walls of the room. She gasped when she ran out of places to go, and pressed herself against the wall. Jareth leisurely leaned in to her, one arm resting on the wall behind her. Sarah suddenly felt acutely aware of what she must look like, having just fallen out of a bed after a red-hot dream. She felt the blood pound in her ears. Jareth was so different to anything she'd ever experienced. He was so self-assured. His entire being seemed to hum with a hungry, carnal energy. It would take so little, so little...

After what felt like forever, Jareth finally said "Sarah, why is it that you feel so bad about claiming what's yours in the first place?"

Sarah's eyes flew to his, watching as he studied her intently, a small smile playing on his lips.

"What do you mean?"

"Your body is yours to enjoy. The pleasure I give you is yours to enjoy. _I _am yours to enjoy. All of it is yours, so I struggle to understand why you feel so conflicted about it." he said, shifting his weight on his feet.

"Well, it's just that, um," Sarah took a deep breath "There are certain.. _things.._that um, Aboveground are considered important, er, such as um..."

Jareth snorted. "You're making excuses. You know it makes perfect sense. So you haven't answered me. Do you dislike me?"

"No."

"Were you coerced against your will?"

"No."

"Good," said Jareth, "I should hope not. Now finally Sarah, did you enjoy it?" he asked her breezily, lowering his voice, leaning in so close she thought for a moment he might kiss her.

There was no point in lying. "Yes." said Sarah, fixing him with her hazel eyes.

Jareth smiled slowly. "Very good. I felt you. You're very talented, but even you Sarah are not that good an actress so as to pretend to make your body react that way."

He stood straight, drawing his body away from her and crossed his arms as he regarded her again. "So if you don't dislike me, weren't coerced and you enjoyed it, what's the problem?"

"I thought that, you know… you might think I'd let you do… more." said Sarah, gesticulating aimlessly.

"But of course I will. In due time, I'll do everything I want to you, and more importantly, everything _you _want." said Jareth, raising an eyebrow.

"Against my will?" she asked, alarmed now.

"Only if you feel like playing that way." he said, winking at her. "I told you last night that nothing you don't want will happen to you. You think too much Sarah. Let's get on with our day, shall we? You should try and elevate your conversation beyond the bedroom you know, you filthy little minx, my delicate sensibilities might be scandalised."

"But I didn't..!"

"Oh you didn't? Well what have we talked about since the moment you got up?" asked Jareth. He saw Sarah start to redden and get flustered and a grinned, a low laugh rising from inside him. "Come find me in the dining room where we were last night. You remember the way, I'm sure." he said, smirking at her before turning on his heels to leave. Sarah shook her head in disbelief and started laughing.

...

The rest of the day passed quickly. Having put the matters of the previous night behind them, Sarah found that conversation with Jareth turned out to flow a lot more easily than she'd anticipated. But time and time again, she'd look up mid-flow and be caught off guard by how intently he was watching her. _Like he did in the ballroom_ she thought, his eyes stripping the surface of her words and thoughts uninvited. It made her feel naked.

It had already grown late by the time Sarah and Jareth found themselves sat by the fire again, enjoying a brief moment of silence.

"And Hoggle?" said Sarah, turning to him. "Why were you so mean to Hoggle?"

Jareth was engrossed in working on a crystal bubble as she spoke. "Hoggle is actually one of my closest advisors."

"That's not a very nice way to treat someone you're supposedly very close to." said Sarah.

"I didn't say we're close, I said he's one of my closest advisors. And he _is _a coward. But I find that he gets the job done. Hoggle would not disobey me. He has that pernickety nature so useful for getting things done."

Jareth stopped moving his hands for a moment, satisfied. "He grew quite fond of you. He's a low oracle, you know."

Sarah's eyes widened and she smiled, sitting up. "Really?"

"Really. That's how he already knew who you were the first time you ran into him. He knew you'd be coming."

"Huh!" said Sarah. She watched the flames of the fire dance around. "Not everything in the Labyrinth is what it seems. In fact, some things are the exact opposite of what you expect." said Jareth. "Friends might be enemies, enemies might be lovers. And very realistic ballrooms might be complete figments of your imagination."

Sarah was about to retort when he spoke again, not taking his eyes off the crystal. "I've got a question for you, one I hope to investigate much more thoroughly tonight. Such a pity you're wearing trousers today. I was hoping you'd show me your markings on your legs." he said, finally stealing a glance at her with a smile.

Sarah felt her heart drop. Marking. Her scars. He must have seen them in her sleep. She looked down, and Jareth felt the entire atmosphere of the room change. "I don't want to talk about it." she said quietly.

Jareth watched her now, his curiosity growing. "So I take it they're not some sort of tribal markings."

Sarah shook her head. "Something someone else inflicted on you?"

Sarah shook her head again, growing uncomfortable. "I… I did them to myself. But not for decoration. I did them because I wanted it to hurt. I wanted to hurt myself."

Jareth was looking at her now, confused. "You wanted to hurt yourself? Whatever for?"

With no other choice, Sarah began to relay the story of her final year before coming to London, how the sense of self-loathing had grown, the last boyfriend she'd had before leaving Connecticut for good, the one who had pushed her to her limits, made her cry so much, called her worthless and who had egged her on to harm herself. He had made fun of the way she escaped into her imagination and who had left her two weeks after her father's death. She'd descended into the depths of her own misery - "No one wants you. Everyone leaves you." and sobbing in the bath one night the razor in her hand had ventured further than she had intended. No one else knew. Not even Rosa.

Jareth was stunned by the lurch of pain his heart felt. "Sarah, do you honestly believe you're worthless to the point of doing that to yourself?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not any more. I left all that behind me." _I hope.._

"Well," said Jareth, "I have scars too. I'll show you sometime. Scars in battle are normal. But this is the first time I've heard of scars in a battle with yourself."

Sarah felt crestfallen. Why had he had to mention the scars? Why did he have to bring up how everyone always left her in the end? Jareth continued to work and Sarah's curiosity got the better of her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Jareth held the crystal up on the tips of his fingers. "Watch," he said, as he gently blew on it and sent it floating towards Sarah. Sarah stared, watching the soapy surface of the bubble's colours rearrange themselves into something. A picture. Something swirling, something glittering.

Sarah blinked and looked harder, realising she was looking at her 15 year old self, exactly as she had been in the ballroom. Her image floated in front of her, just out of reach. Inside the bubble, Sarah danced alone, swaying and turning, a smile on her face. Like a doll in a music box. Faint strains of music floated through the air. The music from the ballroom.

Sarah watched. There she was, 15 again, about to have her world turned upside down. It would all be different after that dance. The arms of the Goblin King she ran from, turning down her dreams. Her father's death. She'd never be 15 again. She could never go back to not knowing what it was like to have danced inside a perfect dream.

She had never been able to play that music box again, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Sarah reached out to touch the crystal and saw it burst in a puff of glitter under her fingers. She bit her lip to stop it trembling, but her tears were already falling.

Jareth's expression changed. He shifted closer towards her. "Whatever is the matter? Why are you crying?"

Sarah felt like a fool. Crying in front of him, this was more intimate than anything that had happened the night before. This left her exposed completely, her emotions raw. The tiny splinter of emotion that Jareth had planted in her heart so many years ago now burned right through her. It hurt. It hurt so much to have been so in love with someone who had then put himself impossibly out of reach. The pain swept through her. She cried quietly, the tears sliding down her face as she struggled not to break into shaking sobs.

"Jareth, have you ever wondered what it was like to be me? My mother left me when I was still a baby, my father left me, I had no friends in school. All I had were my books and my imagination, my dreams. And you. You offered me the worst choice. My dreams on a plate or my baby brother. That ballroom and you in it, they were a 15 year old girl's deepest dream come true. Do you know how hard it was for me to say no, even though I was so scared of you?"

"Sarah, I ..."

"No, please. Just let me finish. I've always had to be so strong. But in those few moments dancing with you, I let myself be weak. I was so tired. I just wanted to feel that way forever. To have someone whose entire attention was on me. You made me feel like the center of the universe. It saved the boys in my life from breaking my heart, because I already went to them with it broken."

Jareth got up and sat next to her. This was unexpected indeed.

"You're so strong Jareth, you have so much power. Could you really not have known how deeply it would affect me to feel as safe as I did when I was in your arms? Did you know that moment in the ballroom is still my safe place which I retreat to to this day when the world around me is getting too much to bear? Was that really the only way you could come up with to beat me? How could you sing those words without meaning them? You said you'd be there for me, and you weren't. Why did you do that?"

Sarah's breath caught in her throat as Jareth watched her, helpless. "But at least you gave me a choice. You let _me_ walk away. At least you didn't walk out on me like everyone else. I just wish you hadn't taken my heart with you."

Jareth was taken aback. He had had an inkling from the way Sarah had looked at him in the ballroom but he had put that down to her age and the spell. Fifteen year old girls fell in love with everything. And yet here she was, all those year later, the wounds still unhealed. He was surprised to feel her pain reflected back in himself, his heart tightening at the unpleasant sensation.

Sarah wiped the tears from her face, waiting for him to say something. He breathed deeply. "Sarah, I have never felt more helpless than when you went marching through my Labyrinth. Try and imagine what it was like for a King to be beaten by a girl, and a mortal at that. I tried everything I could to stop you getting closer. I knew the closer you got, the harder it would be for me to stick to the rules of the game and let you leave."

"And you're right. I could have done a number of other things to stop you. But somewhere in myself I knew you'd already beaten me. I thought I deserved a fair shot at stopping you, and that you deserved a glimpse into your dreams. And yes, I'll admit it, I knew you were too young then to see what you truly were, the jewel that shone in the depths of you, the woman you would one day become. And I wanted it. I wanted to see what it felt like to hold you in my arms before you beat me. Nothing more."

He moved closer to her, producing a soft white cloth to wipe her tears. "I'm not easily impressed. But you went beyond impressive. I knew there was something different about you when I watched you beforehand. You beating the Labyrinth confirmed it. And then I had to let you go. I didn't want to be alone any more than you did."

Sarah watched him, her fingers reaching up to find his own on the side of her face. Jareth spoke again. "I have never been able to allow myself a moment's weakness. Except when it comes to you. Believe me when I say I know what it feels like to have someone walk away with your heart and not be able to do anything about it. As for being there for you, I'm not a man who says anything without meaning it."

He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I was always there. Always. I just couldn't reach out to you until now. I can't promise you that I'll never break your heart. Never is a very long time. But I can promise you that I will never walk away from you, and I will never make you feel worthless. So, in the end it seems we both hurt each other in ways we didn't realise."

Sarah nodded, leaning into him as her tears slowed. Instinctively, she turned towards him, and he leaned down to give her a soft, lingering kiss. Sarah felt as if she was bathed in light. A clock began to strike and broke the stillness of the moment. Jareth drew her up into a chaste hug and whispered into her ear. "Did you know that crying heightens all your senses? I did have more entertaining plans for tonight, but I think we should just sleep today, hmm?"

Sarah let herself be drawn back to the bedchambers. Her outburst hadn't been part of her plan, but in that moment all the pain of the last few years had culminated and flooded out of her without warning. Jareth retrieved the blue glass crystal and placed it near the bed while she changed behind a screen. When she came back, eyes still puffy from her sudden burst of crying, she sat timidly next to him. "I didn't realise I'd hurt you by leaving." she said quietly. Jareth smiled leisurely at her and slung an arm over her shoulder. "It's okay. We're even." They sat in silence for a few moments.

"You know, Sarah," said Jareth, "You're a lot of trouble, but I think I could get quite used to having you around. It's been quite boring ruling on my own all these years."

Sarah smiled. "So you'd have me sit around eating cream cakes and wearing silk all day to tame me, is that it?"

Jareth stared at her in mock horror. "Is that what you think our queens do all day?"

"No? So what do they do?"

"A LOT more than that. But I'll tell you tomorrow."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "So now you're Sheherazade?"

Jareth playfully pushed her shoulder away. "Nice girl, very pretty. Overrated when it comes to storytelling though. I've got better storytellers in my own kingdom." He began to draw up the edge of her nightgown.

"Jareth…"

"Shhh." Jareth drew the fabric up until the scars were plain for him to see again. He frowned at the sight of them now that he knew what they were, and with a gentle touch of his hand, tiny sparks danced across each one and they were gone. Sarah looked down, amazed.

"You made them go away.."

"Sarah, we don't often get to start over again in life, and I'm not saying that's what I'm offering you. I can't turn back time. I can only offer you the illusion that none of it ever happened by removing your scars, and perhaps in time the pain inside you will lessen too."

Sarah hugged him. "Thank you. Thank you so much..."

Jareth had never felt anyone express such earnest appreciation towards him. He let himself enjoy her embrace, before finally letting Sarah settle down to lie next to him, turning on his side to look at her. "Even if nothing more ever happens, I am having a good time, Jareth. Thank you for bringing me here. I wish I could repay you."

"I'm sure you'll think of a way." he said, stroking the side of her face, grinning as he watched her blush. "Now sleep."

...

Jareth waited for Sarah's breathing to even so that she knew she was asleep. He gingerly shifted under the covers and slipped out of the bed. Throwing on his robe, he walked out of the bedroom purposefully into his official chambers, where his advisor, Tribble was waiting for him.

He bowed deeply. "My lord."

The Goblin King nodded his acknowledgement. "Good evening Tribble." he said, drawing up a chair to his desk to go through his paperwork. Sarah was here for fun, but he still had work to do and didn't want any distractions during her waking hours.

"Is the mortal well?" asked Tribble.

"She's well enough. What news of the kingdom?" asked Jareth, dipping a quill in some ink to start signing various papers which needed his attention. Tribble rattled off minor items for his consideration.

Jareth nodded, not looking up from his task. "And what news from the oracle?" he asked.

Tribble breathed deeply, knowing his king would dislike the answer. "Regarding the visit with the girl," he said, watching as the Goblin King leaned in to listen more attentively, "She still will not grant it."

"What?" said Jareth angrily, stopping what he was doing. "Not even _now_? How many months has it already been?" He got up, not waiting for Tribble to answer. Jareth paced the room, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Did she give word of _when?" _

"Perhaps a few more months? Her shells refuse to lie correctly each time she throws them. She is waiting for the right time. Her concern is that the girl is not ready, and neither are you." Tribble hesitated.

Jareth rubbed his temples, frustrated. "If she didn't know how long all of this would take, then why did she give me the key in the first place?" he asked no one in particular. He looked tired. He asked the question he had asked repeatedly for so many years. "Since you've been in contact with the oracle you know what I'm going to ask you. The curse?"

"Status unchanged. She sees no current solution."

Jareth groaned. "Very well. Dismissed."

Tribble fidgeted. Jareth looked at him sternly. "I said you are dismissed."

"Sire...the girl."

Jareth was going through various papers, keeping what needed his immediate attention and tossing aside what could wait. "What about her?" he asked, annoyed.

"Sire, she's mortal. Her presence will be sensed and if Cenric finds ou-"

"Silence!" Jareth shouted, holding up his hand for his advisor to say no more. "I do not wish to hear his name today. The girl is here under my protection. She will come to no harm."

Tribble sighed quietly. His king was difficult, but he was right. He would have ensured beforehand that the rival king could not cause any harm to the girl, and by extension, to the entire kingdom. And they had all sensed it - there was something different about this girl.

"Thank you Tribble, I bid you goodnight. You are dismissed." said Jareth.

Tribble bowed once more and scurried out of the room. Jareth walked to the window of the room, staring out into the gloom. Sarah's tears earlier had deeply affected him. He'd never felt the urge to protect as strongly as he did at that point. He felt a loathing for anyone who had dared hurt her and cursed himself for being one of them. She'd shown herself to him at her most vulnerable, and he'd seen that her mother's abandonment had cast a longer shadow over her life than he had anticipated. _If only things would move faster with this blasted oracle. _

Jareth sat on his windowsill, bringing a foot to rest up on it and resting an arm on his knee as he stared out at the no man's land between the two realms. A moon was slowly being rubbed away as it crossed from the moral sky to the Underground sky, disappearing in slices. What could the oracle possibly have to say that would be so extraordinary?


	12. Chapter 12: Falling Leaves

_AN: Guys I'm so sorry this took so long, the truth is I know where I will go after this series of events (Sarah visiting Jareth) but I just cannot get these chapters to sit right. In the end, I've broken them into pieces. So here is the first, I hope to polish the rest, and really thank you for stopping by!_

_What if she leaves?_

Jareth sat on the edge of the bed, watching Sarah sleep, his mind a riot of a thousand different thoughts. The nagging doubt came back to him.

_What if she leaves you, Jareth?_

No. That would be too much to bear. Jareth looked at her. How could this one person have so much power over him? Sarah had come to him for answers - what if that's all she had come to him for? The Oracle was known to be vague, the answers she gave were known to have disrupted lives and broken apart families, because they always came true. His quest to discover what she was about could lead to their undoing. And beyond that, a lifetime of solitude stretched before him. He sighed.

Sarah had no obligation to be here. He had waited so long, seven patient years, going through the exhausting process of waiting for the oracle to give a sign, obsessing over Sarah from afar while trying to keep a kingdom running at the same time. He hadn't come this far just to let Sarah go again.

But what if she got her answers and left? His heart lurched, the same sensation of bitter fear he'd had back in the Labyrinth all those years ago when she had completely wrong footed him by jumping into the abyss to save her brother. For a few moments he had been terrified - she wasn't supposed to have jumped. She was _not_ supposed to have jumped! That's when he knew how brave she was, how different. If he had put fire between her and her brother, she'd have walked through it.

There had been a split second when he had thought she really was ready to give her life up. No one had died in their quests in the Labyrinth, and Sarah had almost become the first. But the Labyrinth had caught her, as if it knew something before he had realised what it was.

And then she left. His final plea to her had done no good. Jareth inched his fingers into Sarah's pale hand. He watched as her hand instinctively clasped around his and drew it up to her chest. A tremor went through him. He was falling in love with this girl and that was dangerous territory. There were so many complications - Cenric for one would be sure to destroy one or the other simply to spite the pair if he found out there was anyone that could make Jareth happy. And yes, Sarah had confessed yesterday about the repose she found in his arms in the ballroom. But did she love him? _Could _she love him? Could she stand up to what it meant to be the queen of the Labyrinth?

_Silk gowns and cream cakes, _thought Jareth with a wry smile. If she only knew how hard the life of a Labyrinth queen was, but that she possessed all the necessary attributes. Would that frighten her, or make her want to stay? Jareth sighed, his head starting to pound. This place. This castle. He didn't want any of it. He just wanted Sarah.

She expected so much of him. So much strength and surety. Could she stand it if she saw him as he was now, crouched by the bed, lost to his thoughts, conflicted and most of all afraid? Afraid of losing her? She'd spoken of always having to be strong. She had no idea.

He couldn't bear the thought of disappointing her, of being another one of the people who had hurt her. He bit down on his thumb until it hurt, biting so hard he thought he might draw blood. He had a reputation for destroying things and ruining the women who sought his affections. He would rather cut off his own hands than hurt Sarah. _You're a fool, Jareth_ he thought to himself. The big, powerful king of the Underground, cowering next to a mortal woman, terrified of her walking away.

Duties, obligations, warfare, carnage, crystals, blood, glitter. Jareth began to feel overwhelmed by it all. _I have to get out of here _he thought, conjuring a crystal and throwing it at the wall. Instantly, they were transported to his camping grounds in the enchanted woods. Sarah barely stirred from her sleep. Jareth got into the bed with her, kissing the curve of her neck as he felt her settle her body against his. If she was going to leave, he couldn't stop her, he decided. He'd just have to ensure he could give her back her dreams, some of the magic she had given up when she walked away from him the first time.

_I could get used to this. Oh, Jareth… what have you done?_

Sarah drifted out of her sleep and into wakefulness, rubbing her eyes. She rolled onto her back sleepily, and was surprised to feel Jareth in the bed next to her. Then she noticed they weren't in the castle any more. They were in the same bed she had fallen asleep in, just placed in the middle of a huge tent, the fabric of which was various shades of blue and turquoise. It was beautiful. A cool, fresh air was blowing through the tent. A circular hearth, designed for fires and cooking, sat in the center of the space.

Sarah sat up, taking in her surroundings a little better. Jareth must have done this in her sleep. She smiled when she noticed her little overnight bag sitting neatly on one of the ornate rugs. He'd thought of everything. She turned to look at him, seeing for the first time what he looked like while sleeping. Even in his sleep, a slight frown, a harshness to his features remained, but Sarah couldn't help but feel her heart soften. She tucked her hair behind her ear and bent down to give him a gentle kiss.

No sooner had she done so than she felt Jareth stir and kiss her back. He drew her down to himself and she saw his mismatched eyes open, already glazed over with lust as he suddenly rolled and pinned her under himself.

His kisses grew more passionate now, and Sarah could feel herself responding. One hand of Jareth's was in her hair, the other had moved down her body to her breast, touching her and murmuring with satisfaction as he felt her body react. Suddenly he drew himself up on his elbows, forcing himself to stop. _Not here, not in these woods. _Any number of creatures of energies could sense the strong vibrations from his desire for Sarah and betray their presence to Cenric or another enemy.

"Good morning," he drawled, a smile playing on his lips.

Sarah blinked back at him, cloudy headed and breathless. She smiled and turned her head away.

"That's some way to wake up!" she said.

"I'll say." said Jareth. He stood up and crossed his arms, looking down at her haughtily. There was that half smile again.

Sarah rolled her eyes. She wasn't even out of bed and the games had started. "So why did you… why did you stop?" she asked. Jareth looked at her from the center of the tent where he had knelt down to light the fire.

"Don't tell me you're finally ready to admit your desire for me." he said.

"You're really going to make me spell it out for you, aren't you. Have you ever heard of subtlety?" said Sarah, getting into the mood of their little game.

"I'd say there's nothing subtle left since these have been where they've been." said Jareth, wiggling the fingers of his right hand and laughing loudly as he watched Sarah turn red and throw her sheets off herself in a huff.

"You're so… so…!"

"So what Sarah, on the mark? Unpretentious? Honest? You should let some of your fake piety go."

"Never mind."

Jareth rose from the floor. The fire had taken and was warming the inside of the tent now. He peeled his robe off, never taking his eyes off Sarah. He saw her draw her breath and bite her lip as he did so. She wasn't fooling anyone.

"Why do you fight me, Sarah?"

Sarah sighed. There wasn't any point trying to dodge this argument. Jareth would win. He sensed her turmoil and walked over to her.

"Sit with me, Sarah." he said, motioning to the cushions on the floor. "I want you to tell me about what's in your mind, in your heart."

Sarah nodded. She sank down to the floor and sighed as she felt Jareth sit down behind her and hold her in his arms. "Jareth," she said, looking down at her hands "You're right. I want you. I've wanted you since I was old enough to realise what it was I wanted."

Sarah was surprised when she looked into Jareth's eyes and saw not lust, but a deep understanding. Almost a sadness, the look of a person who was watching someone they were about to lose forever.

"The time will come." said Jareth. "But I must make one demand of you."

Sarah looked at him uncertainly. "Wh.. what exactly?"

Jareth leaned in to her. "Sarah, you can hold yourself back physically as long as you think is necessary. But I must demand your total trust. That is non negotiable."

Sarah nodded. That seemed the only logical thing. "I'm here, aren't I Jareth?"

"Are you here because you trust me or are you here because you want to know what the Oracle has to say?"

Sarah bit her lip. "A bit of both, I suppose." She bit the pad of her thumb, and Jareth smiled without her seeing at the way she mirrored the gesture of he had made the night before. He could almost hear the thoughts flying around her head. He took her thumb from her hand and turned her palm over, tracing its lines as he spoke.

"Last night, we made some quite deep revelations." he said. He felt Sarah's fragrant brown hair brush against his shoulder as she nodded. "And then I had one of my own."

He paused, and Sarah turned to face him. "Well?" she asked.

Jareth sighed. "I'm not a man who shows weakness, Sarah." he said, raising one knee on the floor in front of him and draping an arm over it.

"So you intend to be cruel to me?"

"Oh, I can be quite cruel. That's the problem. I don't want to be cruel to you, but I have a habit of destroying things. And people."

Sarah sank into the fabric of the tent's wall, rubbing her knees. Jareth watched her. She didn't look scared. She looked curious.

"Sarah, I don't want to be cruel to you. But I must admit, the strength of my emotions for you is a new experience for me. I'm not sure how well you would tolerate my darker side. It crossed my mind last night that I had made a mistake bringing you here. That I have unnecessarily complicated your life."

Sarah's brow furrowed. A mistake? What was he talking about! "You didn't bring me here Jareth, I came of my own free will!"

Jareth's expression remained serious. "And perhaps I should not have approached you at all. Let sleeping dogs lie."

It was adorable the way she pouted now, and heartbreaking. Jareth was opening the door for her exit. It was a gigantic gamble. _What if she leaves you?_

Sarah crossed her arms and stood up. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." Her anger melted when Jareth stood up too. He took her into his arms and held her. Sarah gasped, the air itself around him seemed to vibrate with his energy. She felt his warm breath on her ear as he spoke.

"Then forgive me now for any harm my association with you might cause you. Know that it would always be the last thing on my mind. I cannot let you go so easily Sarah, and I make no secret of how much I desire you. The time will come when you will give yourself to me."

Sarah returned his embrace, thinking of all her teenaged nights spent longing for him. If she let go now, she felt her own lust would tear fires through both of them. She would have to wait until she'd tempered her emotions, until she knew just how to handle this. This was practically a declaration of love, especially after the previous night's events.

"I didn't think you had it in you, Goblin King." she murmured.

"I look forward to surprising you more often then." said Jareth, holding her face and kissing her deeply.


	13. Chapter 13: In Transit

AN: I wrote this while in transit on a business trip, hence the name. ha ha! More to come soon.

It was Sarah who broke the kiss first. She pulled away at Jareth and looked into his mismatched eyes. She found them looking back at her inquisitively. A smile broke on Jareth's lips.

"Come on then, what is it you want to ask me this time?" he asked.

He already had her figured out, thought Sarah. She looked around at the tent and gestured. "What's this all about?"

"Oh, I just got bored with the castle." replied Jareth. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either.

Sarah began to pull away to explore, but Jareth wouldn't release his grip around her waist. Sarah rolled her eyes. "Jareth, let me go." she said with a pretend huff.

"Say the magic word." ordered Jareth.

"Jareth, let me go _please._" said Sarah elaborately.

Instantly, Jareth released his arms and executed a low, graceful bow to Sarah. "I'd hardly call that magic, but it will suffice, my lady." he said.

Sarah wandered around the circular tent. Every attention to detail had been catered for. It was airy without being cold, and warm without being stuffy. An incense burner hang slightly off center, and beautiful curls of wonderful-smelling smoke were wafting out of it.

There were supplies for preparing food, a low table with cushions for dining and, of course, the free-standing bathtub, just like back in the castle.

"Do you come here often?" she asked Jareth, still looking around.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" he asked, walking over to the cooking supplies and deftly pulling out various objects to prepare breakfast. "'What's a nice girl like you doing in a Labyrinth like this?' 'Hello precious thing, want to look inside my oubliette?' 'I'll give you a bite of my peach and then you can give me a bite of yours.'"

"Alright! I get the picture!" said Sarah, blushing as she watched Jareth. She fidgeted for a moment as she saw Jareth remove strange-looking eggs, some sort of lichen and a blue paste from the pantry.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Lichenfreit, a breakfast specialty from my kingdom." Said Jareth, cracking an egg into a bowl. Sarah gulped when she saw a pitch-black yolk encased in stringy clear membranes plop into the bowl. She watched Jareth's bare fingers reach for another grey egg.

"Well you know, you've done so much for me already. Can I make you a specialty from my kingdom?" she asked. Whatever lichenfreit was, she wasn't in the mood to try it.

Jareth paused mid-air, about to crack another egg. He lowered his hands, looking at Sarah with utmost seriousness. "Oh?" he asked, his features softening very slightly. "You'd… cook for me?"

Sarah nodded enthusiastically. She was getting hungry, and pancakes seemed like a much better option than whatever it was Jareth had in mind. "Of course!"

Jareth smiled slightly. This was something new. No love interest of his had ever cooked for him before, nor would they have dreamed of doing so in such humble settings. He'd noticed Sarah stealing glances at him at regular intervals. There was a look in her eye. Something different. Jareth felt a familiar mischief inside his belly. Sarah's habit of dancing around the truth was most interesting. She obviously didn't want to eat what he was making, but wouldn't admit that. What would be the harm in pushing her buttons a little? She looked so sweet when her hazel eyes flashed with anger.

"No need for that." said Jareth, cracking the second egg into the bowl.

Sarah was floundering. "No, really. It's not a big deal for me. I like doing it."

"But you'll get all hot and messy. Cooking is hard work." said Jareth, "Leave it to me and don't bother yourself about it." He took a scoop of the blue stuff and started expertly whisking it into the eggs. A smell like freshly cut grass wafted in Sarah's direction.

"It's really not a bother Jareth." said Sarah, starting to get agitated now.

"You don't care for what I'm cooking, is that it?" asked Jareth, raising an eyebrow.

"Er no, it's not that, I'm sure whatever that is is …. delicious! I just feel like cooking."

"You cook at home surely. When you have the option to sit back and relax, why would you go to the trouble of cooking Sarah dearest?"

"Because I like to do it, it makes me feel happy."

"Why?"

"I like cooking because feeding the people I love makes me happy Jareth!" said Sarah, before immediately clamping her hand over her mouth.

Jareth stopped what he was doing and looked at her, and for the briefest of moments Sarah saw the same shock she felt reflected in his face, as if he's been caught off guard. The few moments when neither of them said anything felt like an eternity to Sarah. _Way to go, Sarah!_ Had she just ruined everything? Her big mouth was always getting her into trouble, and even though what she had said was true according to how she felt, she had shocked herself with the ease with which she had said it.

Jareth looked incredibly serious now, but there was something else there. Something Sarah couldn't trace. But Jareth knew. It was the look of an apology. That was not what he had been aiming for. Still, hadn't he hoped for this? Hadn't he pleaded with her for this very thing in her final moments in the Labyrinth? But this was not just some playful folly - this came with responsibility. This time he wouldn't be able to turn and walk away from another tear-streaked face demanding love in return, like he had nonchalantly done so very many times before. For the first time, Jareth felt the weight of being responsible for the heart of someone he was shocked to realise he cared for too. _Well done, Jareth. All your silly games have actually made the girl love you. How will you forgive yourself if you break her heart?_

Jareth placed the eggs carefully back on the counter and walked towards Sarah, who stood rooted to the spot, her hands against her burning cheeks. "Jareth, I didn't mean to…I mean I understand if you… what I meant was…"

Jareth embraced her, his touch both gentle and hungry at oncel. "Sarah, Sarah. Did you just say something you regret?" he whispered into her ear. Sarah stood frozen, her arms up against her, gently pushing against Jareth as she wondered how to worm her way out of this. Not only had she just laid herself bare to his emotional manipulation but she had no idea how he felt. This wasn't just reckless, it was humiliating.

Jareth leaned in to nip her earlobe. "Because if you said something you didn't mean to, that would be such a pity."

"I… uh… wh what do you mean?"

The sensation of Jareth's lips against her neck was setting off flames inside her head already. She could feel his hands on the small of her back, still, yet demanding.

"If you didn't mean it, you precious thing, then that puts me in the awkward position of falling in love with someone who was just using a careless turn of phrase."

Sarah's knees practically gave out. _Oh my God! The king of the goblins is in love with me! What am I doing!_ This was both a dream come true and a nightmare. How many times had she dreamt of this? There were 1001 ways in which she had imagined this very moment, and she had never in her wildest dreams thought it would ever actually happen.

There were so many 'what ifs', so many ways for this to explode in both their faces. And what would the Goblin King be like as a jilted lover? Sarah didn't even want to think about it. Her thoughts were silenced by Jareth breaking his embrace and taking her hand. He turned her palm upwards and studied it as if he was looking at some long lost map. "Will these precious hands cook for me? I'm utterly famished. Or should I put them to better use?" said Jareth at last, his voice glittering with mischief.

Sarah's wide hazel eyes gazed at Jareth as he lowered himself to the floor and rested on one of the large cushions, threatening to pull her down there with him. _The Goblin King is in love with you!_ her heart repeated. When she was practically on her knees, she snapped out of it and pulled her hand away and stood up, regaining some of her composure. Her face was flushed and her eyes were alight with something - longing? Desire? Jareth hoped it was both.

She waltzed over to the cooking area "Not so fast, Goblin King." she said, glancing over her shoulder. Jareth was draped over the cushions, watching her lazily. For the first time, Sarah could sense a sort of happiness about him, and for the first time in any relationship she could taste her own power as a woman. Was he just teasing her? She hoped not.

"Just because I said I love you doesn't mean you can access all areas." she said seriously, laying out the ingredients to make some pancakes.

"You'll soon change your mind. Speaking of speed, are you always this slow to react? A few more seconds and I'd have had you on the floor. Not that I mind at all, but you need to learn to control your reactions a little better." said Jareth, watching as Sarah rooted about for something.

"It might come in handy someday." he continued. Sarah put her hands on her hips and bit her lip, looking around. She frowned. "Are you looking for this?" asked Jareth, and instantly a block of butter appeared before Sarah.

She looked at him, amazed. "How did you know?"

Jareth shrugged. "You're making pancakes, the famous breakfast of your land."

"But how…"

"Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and now butter. I wasn't born yesterday."

Sarah continued to work. She could feel her face glowing with the happiness that was spreading deep inside her heart. She took a few deep breaths to center herself. If Jareth was only teasing her, which wouldn't be beyond the realm of fantasy given his cruel streak, she might as well use the time to learn something useful.

"What's the matter Sarah? I don't believe I've ever seen you lost for words." drawled Jareth from his position on the floor. "If I had known a simple declaration of love would make you lose control of your senses I would have taken greater advantage of the situation."

_Argh! Snap out of it Sarah!_

"So yesterday you said that your queens don't sit around being fancy all day. So what do they do?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I don't think I've officially asked you to be my queen yet, Sarah, have I?" teased Jareth.

"I'm just curious Jareth." said Sarah. "Liar!" sneered Jareth, "You want to know because you want to know what your life could be like with me. But since you like to pretend and act so obtuse, I'll play your little game."

Sarah haughtily picked up her bowl of batter and sauntered as elegantly as she could imagine to the fireplace in the center of the tent.

"Walk how you normally walk." ordered Jareth "I _love_ it." said Jareth as she got close, his voice tinged with an animalistic streak.

Sarah tipped her head to the side and started ladeling pancake mix onto the griddle over the fire. "Why is that anyway Jareth? Just perving?" she said, meeting his gaze with a glint of playfulness in her eyes.

"Partly, yes. But mostly because I like seeing how you walk. It's so sure. Purposeful. A useful quality in a queen who leads her army into battle. In the Underground, our queens march into battle ahead of the army. The army take their lead from her. She must not falter. She must be fearless. You can stop pouring batter now."

Sarah heard a hissing sound and looked down to see that she'd flooded the whole griddle with pancake mix which was now dripping over the sides and dropping with noisy puffs into the hot coals below.

"Damn!" she shouted, wiping her hands on the first thing she could think of, her nightdress.

Jareth was laughing. "You've ruined the pancakes and your nightdress. Why don't you let me take it off you?" he murmured.

Sarah quickly scooped off the spoilt pancakes and tossed them into the fire. She poured fresh circles over the griddle and began rubbing at her dress to get rid of the batter. She'd been trying to act so cool and now it was ruined! Tears threatened to prick at her eyes as she felt Jareth watch her every move.

"I think I'll get changed." she mumbled. Before she could react, Jareth's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Let me have the honour.." he said. Sarah stood up, not quite knowing what he meant. Jareth stood up with her. He turned her to face away from him and gently began to peel the nightdress away from Sarah's shoulders. The soft fabric came away easily, and he smiled to himself as he heard Sarah's breath hitch in her throat. He loved this. Loved the way she pretended to resist him.

Sarah gasped when she felt Jareth's lips plant soft kisses along the back of her neck against the ribbon holding the key she always wore, the key that brought them together, and along the skin his fingers were revealing. He peeled the dress down past her shoulders and further still. Sarah could feel her breathing getting heavier as the fresh air hit her bare breasts. She crossed her arms in a vain attempt to stop him "Jareth…"

"Now, now, don't worry, my precious, I won't do anything. I just want to see your skin in the daylight." said Jareth, relaxing her arms and pulling the dress down to her waist. How her skin seemed to glow in the daylight too. Her dark hair like waves against the white sand of her back. Jareth couldn't understand it - how was this woman not constantly being ravished by the men in the Aboveground? _They must be both blind and stupid! _he thought to himself, touching the curve of her back and smiling as she sucked her breath in.

"Your body is a work of art, do you know that?" he murmured.

Despite the things they had already done, Sarah suddenly felt self conscious. She crossed her bare arms over herself, not caring that flakes of batter covered her fingers as she felt her skin blaze everywhere Jareth touched her and kissed her.

"Tell me Sarah, how much longer are you going to pretend to resist me?"

"I…. I'm not pretending…" said Sarah.

"Really? Your body tells me otherwise. I can smell your desire all over you."

His fingers traced down her elbows and to her front, his hot touch lingering at her waist and belly. The came down further, right where the edge of the fabric balanced on her hips, covering the last of what there was to cover. She could just give in right here. Jareth was right. Her entire body was screaming for his touch. And yet… and yet.

She felt Jareth's hair brush against the back of her neck as he whispered "Don't think you'll be heading back to the Aboveground without something to remember me by, my precious. I can make myself most memorable indeed, and I can do it without breaching your treasured virginity. There are thousands of roads that lead to your pleasure, and I intend to explore them." Fireworks were going off inside Sarah's head at this delicious threat. She had no words, her thoughts had all evaporated under the sensation of his hands as they crawled up her body, snaking coolly under her crossed arms to touch her breasts, and Sarah stood there, powerless, unable and unwilling to resist.

"You… you make a lot of bold promises, Goblin King." she whispered. "You can't just turn me on and off like a light switch. I'm more complicated that… than that." she said, trying to string her words together under the force that was starting to blossom deep inside her. Somewhere vaguely in the back of the mind was something she remembered from a long time ago, something about pheromones, animal instincts, attraction, the perfect chemistry. Well, right now it all felt true. The air seemed to have frozen still around them, churning with anticipation, the stage perfectly set on the all powerful, animal attraction she felt for Jareth. The hungry beast inside her was wide awake. And it wanted everything.

"You keep on pretending that, and I will pretend to prove you wrong. But we both know the animal inside you. We both know you make it more complicated than it needs to be. I'd even venture as far as to say your appetite has the potential to be more insatiable than mine. What a pity we're out here in this forest, where what I can do to you has to be a lot more… restrained." said Jareth, dragging his nails down the skin of her breasts. Her arms barely covered her any more, what was the point? He was right. He was so right.

When Jareth spoke, his breath was thick with his own longing. "Speaking of appetites...I think you better go get dressed, precious, before I lose all power to stop myself. And this time you've burnt the pancakes."

Sarah took a breath, feeling like she'd stopped breathing all this time and let her head fall forward, her hair spilling over her shoulders as she laughed, trying to regain whatever strands of composure she had left. "YOU burnt them, this time." she said.


	14. Chapter 14: Mystical Woods

AN: mature content, don't read if easily offended, sorry for any typos, this is a long one!

After Sarah had got dressed, the third attempt at the pancakes had finally been successful. Jareth had declared them the best he'd ever eaten.

Sarah smirked "How many pancakes have you actually eaten to be able to compare, Jareth? Ι don't suppose your little goblins know how to make them."

Jareth finished wiping his hands. "You forget how often I frequent the capitals of Europe. I've eaten the best pancakes there are to eat, though I know them as crepes."

Sarah looked down at the plates she was clearing away and smiled to herself. "You're just trying to flatter me."

"I don't need to flatter you to get closer to you. That will happen of its own accord. And in case you haven't noticed, it's you who avoids the truth. I have not lied to you so far."

That was true. Sarah couldn't argue with that. For all his irritating arrogance and annoying attractiveness, he so far had been completely honest. She went to sit with Jareth on the thick carpet on the floor of the tent. An awkward silence threatened to descend on them, when Jareth pulled out a crystal and began to manipulate it, this way and that.

Sarah watched his movements, mesmerised. Slowly, she saw some sort of official chamber come into focus. Jareth gestured to her and held his finger to his lips for her to stay silent.

"Tribble good day. Are all matters of the kingdom in order?" asked Jareth.

Sarah squinted to make out the warped features of the goblin on the other end of the crystal. His voice scattered through "Good day, sire. All matters are in order."

"Good." said Jareth. "I shall be back tonight. Dismissed."

The goblin bowed and then was gone. Jareth playfully tossed the crystal at Sarah. She instinctively reached out to catch it. In her hands, it just looked like an ordinary piece of glass, nothing more. She peered inside. Light scattered within the crystal for a few seconds, and then disappeared.

Sarah looked at Jareth inquisitively. "Just checking on business." he answered, without her asking.

"Are we really going back tonight?" Sarah asked, a little downcast.

"Sadly, yes. As much as I'd love to roll around the woods giving you grass stains on your clothes, there is only so long I can be away from my kingdom before the goblins come up with some other ridiculous scheme. The last time they opened a gambling den in my throne room. They raced chickens. It was a complete mess by the time I got back." said Jareth.

It sounded so complicated to Sarah, even if her first impression of the Labyrinth had been one of utter amazement. Constantly having to keep an entire of kingdoms in check was starting to sound exhausting.

"I guess I never thought about all the ins and outs of running an actual kingdom." she said, rolling the crystal in her palms.

"Because you never had to, that's why." responded Jareth, watching the movements of her hands.

Sarah tipped her head, the way she did when she thought about something. "Do you like being king, Jareth?"

Jareth shrugged. "I'll be honest with you. You know that the kingdom ended up my control on a twist of fate. As an elite warrior, I was better suited to other things. I would have preferred a more orderly kingdom, more educated and sophisticated subjects. But this is my lot." he said with a sigh, "I am the King of the Goblins and I will defend my subjects with my life if I have to."

"They're lucky to have you." said Sarah, continuing to roll the crystal in her hands.

"Luck has nothing to do with it. I've told you, my kingdom is not a peaceful place. We end up in battles more often than I'd like. The Underground is a violent place. I've carried out more battles and ordered more executions than I would ideally have liked."

He said it so casually that it took a few moments for Sarah to register what he had said. He waited for his words to sink in and was ready with his own gaze when her eyes shot up in alarm. Her mouth opened and shut again without making a sound, and she looked away. Jareth watched her eyes, wide with panic now, aimlessly searching the pattern of the carpet. She could feel her hands growing clammy around the crystal, which she was holding perfectly still now, and when Jareth reached out to take one of her hands, she felt herself visibly shrink away.

_Executions? Holy crap!_

She looked at him when she felt his touch, her panicked eyes meeting his patient gaze and he felt almost sorry then. But better she knew now the true nature of the workings of the Underground, better now than later. _If she walks, let it be now. _Sarah's mouth felt like it was full of dust. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She just gawked at Jareth.

"Sarah, I know this news frightens you. And I make no apologies. The Underground is not just the pretty, glittering labyrinth that you saw. It has many, many dark aspects, and I have had to do many things that you would be repulsed by. All I can say to reassure you is that I am always just, and always fair."

Sarah's eyebrows furrowed. She faltered, trying to get her words out. "Fair? Jareth… you cheated in a game with a teenage girl, how can that be true? What… what am I to believe? And now I'm out here in this place alone with you, and … and there's all this talk about executions?!"

"Because that was a game, and I keep my business matters completely separate from the runnings of the Labyrinth. I asked one thing of you - your trust, so now I must ask you to trust me that I am telling the truth. I pray as much as anyone else that one day peace will reign over my kingdom. Imagine my position - what could be more monstrous than a Goblin King who goes about stealing innocent babies? I take no delight in my reputation as a fearsome king."

Sarah nodded. She stayed perfectly still as Jareth's fingers ran through her hair. Her eyes, though, were confused. Pleading. What had she expected? Hadn't she herself been scared of him? What had she thought he did all day? She nodded dumbly again.

Jareth sighed. This wasn't going too well. He noticed the crystal, still held limply in Sarah's fingers. She was upset, and she was scared. Otherwise, she would be angry right now.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked her softly. He held up his free hand, and the blue crystal materialised from thin air. "Take it," he coaxed "And return Aboveground, this crystal will be my gift to you. I will arrange for you to see the Oracle of your own accord and we shall go our separate ways. Or accept that this what I must be as king, and that I would rather it wasn't this way, and stay with me a little longer. It's your choice. You have the power, you always do." he said. And this would be how it ended. Perhaps it was too much too soon after all, thought Jareth.

There was about half a second when Sarah looked at the endless blue of the crystal in Jareth's hand, thinking about his offer. It looked like a shade of ocean she'd once seen, and she wanted to lose herself in it. Take the easy way out. Her logic told her to do it. But then she looked at Jareth. And oh, those eyes, how they ripped into her very soul. Should her fingers touch the crystal, that would be it. Those eyes would join the realms of her memories, never to look at her like this, or in any other way again. She took a deep breath. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. You're right. It's not what I had hoped. And yes, I'm scared, Jareth. That part of you, of who you are obliged to be as you say, it frightens me. But perhaps I was deluding myself. At least your warfare is honest. Not like Aboveground. We go to war over nothing."

Jareth tried to mask his visible relief. He threw the blue crystal into the air, and it floated around the tent before popping. He'd bought himself a little more time. A little more time to win Sarah's trust, and a little more time to convince himself he wasn't being a total fool.

Seeing it made Sarah think of something. Trying to lighten the mood, she turned to Jareth. "Jareth, what happened after I ate the peach?"

Jareth narrowed his gaze and leaned back on his hands. "Why do you ask? You know that already."

Sarah shook her head. "No, what actually happened? The ballroom was an illusion, right? So how did I end up falling from the sky into the garbage heap?"

"Ah!" said Jareth, clocking on to what she was asking. He sat up and let his hands rest over his knees as he crossed his legs. "After you ate the peach, you fell into a daze. I then came to find you, since it would have been careless to leave you in the woods where any number of creatures could have come across you." Jareth smiled, remembering the teenage Sarah leaning against a bank of moss, her eyes wide open, darting at nothing but the scene he knew was playing out in her head.

"I took you into my arms and up into the sky, and we stayed there dancing until you broke the illusion, you spoilsport. I was inside the illusion too, don't forget, so when I saw what you did, I had no choice but to descend you back to the ground. I calculated how far you would have got without my intrusion, and dropped you off."

Sarah smiled. What a surprisingly sweet tale! "Jareth, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were a big old softie!" she said, giggling in spite of herself, playfully poking Jareth in the arm.

"Shows what you know." retorted Jareth and Sarah stifled a grin.

"How much of the illusion was mine, and how much of it did you construct?" she asked.

"The ballroom was your fantasy, but I heavily embellished. By that time I think we were both exhausted, so I thought I might as well join you for a dance."

"I'm guessing the dress was my imagination-"

"And the hair was mine." said Jareth, cutting in proudly. "Quite a creation, don't you think? But you missed the significance of it."

Sarah dropped the crystal from one had to the other, enjoying its heaviness now that she was relaxing again. She looked across her shoulder at him. "What do you mean?"

"We don't wear crowns in my kingdom. We show our status with our hair. Hair is considered extremely important in displaying status. To touch ones hair without permission is a grave faux pas. My elaborate hair is the hair of a king. So you hair…" Jareth gestured at Sarah, waiting for her to fill in the blanks.

She got it immediately "The hair you gave me was the hair of a … queen? Literally a crowning glory" she asked in amazement. How many times had she tried to recreate that hair in the years that followed, and she'd failed every time. No wonder, if it was a construct of magic.

Jareth grinned, his sharp tooth showing. "Indeed, my clever girl."

Sarah ran her gaze over Jareth's fair locks. She reached out to touch them mischievously, when Jareth caught her hand. "Ah ah ah! Naughty naughty. I didn't say you could do that. I never let anyone touch my hair."

Sarah frowned, looking annoyed and hurt at the same time. Her mind skipped a few steps ahead and Jareth saw the question in her eyes seconds before she asked it. "How does that work with…. You know…"

"With my intimate relations? How does it work in the throes of passion when your lover reaches out to run their fingers through your hair? It's very simple. They don't."

"Because they know not to." offered Sarah simply, tipping her head and pointing at Jareth, starting to feel herself blush as she tried to convince herself to keep this instruction in mind without it seeming pressumptious.

"Because I tie them to the bed, or hold them down." responded Jareth, raising his eyebrows devilishly. He relished the sight of Sarah turn bright red. _Poor little bird, how did you end you end up in the clutches of a fiend like me? _

Sarah gulped. _My God that's hot! No way! It's… it's terrible! But it's hot! _He didn't lie, hadn't he just said that? "And they're okay with this?"

"They're not only okay with it my dear, they flock to me for it. You'd be amazed at how women want to give up all control when given the chance. I find that surrender heightens the senses. Just pure, unadulterated pleasure, no responsibility, no need to think. Just lie back and drown in pleasure at the hands of someone as skilled as I am."

Sarah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defensively, trying subversively to take a few calming breaths. "It's not a very enticing prospect."

Jareth sat up straight and smirked, bemused at her audacity. "Oh really now?" he asked. "How so? Do elaborate. I'm dying to learn more about what makes you so knowledgeable in these matters.."

Sarah shrugged. "I just don't hear much about love, that's all."

Jareth threw his head back and roared with laughter. Sarah frowned at him, waiting for him to finish. Why should sex that involved love be such a hilarious concept to him? God he was incorrigible!

When he finally stopped laughing, Jareth wiped the traces of tears from his eyes. "It's so amusing how little you know. I forget sometimes. What does love have to do with it, Sarah? It's just nerve endings, neurons firing. I've had the best sex with women I absolutely hated."

Sarah was really getting riled now. "What the hell does that mean, Jareth!?" she tried to hide it, but along with her genuine outrage, Jareth could detect jealousy.

"I mean, sometimes I like to punish my adversaries with sex."

Now Sarah really didn't know what to do. She swallowed hard, knowing she had to ask the next question, and knowing it would decide whether she immediately asked to leave there and then. "What do you mean, punish them with sex… you mean, like… making them… against their will?" she asked, slowly and deliberately, not wanting to look at him.

Jareth's face fell. Sarah gasped, her eyes wild as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "_Never, ever_ even joke about such a thing. I may be fearsome, but I am not a total monster. Few in the Underground are. Such a crime is instantly punishable by death in nearly every kingdom in the Underground. You might think we're flippant about physical matters, but to take something so pleasurable, something which should, in a perfect world, lead to the gift of a child, and to use it to attack someone is perverse in the extreme. It's beyond the realm of nearly everyone's thinking, which is why, unlike your kind in the Aboveground, we would never even dream of so easily, so carelessly…of committing the act of..." he couldn't say it. He let go of Sarah's face, and saw her stunned eyes.

"I had no idea… I'm sorry. I got confused when you said what you said and-"

Jareth took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. Of course she would come to that conclusion, he hadn't been clear enough. With the warfare and the anarchy and the chaos, why should she think anything other than that rape was a part of all that? How was she to know how depraved such an act was considered among Fae? "Forgive me for not being clear. What I meant, Sarah," he said, quietly, the lightness creeping back into his voice "was that sometimes I like to seduce queens I detest, pleasure them until they're half out of their minds, and then withdraw that pleasure from them completely, never allowing them access to it again, no matter how much they beg. And before you accuse me of being a cad, I've succumbed to the same treatment from certain queens. In fact, that's how I learnt the trick. Tie them up and deliver the greatest pleasures they have ever known, then be gone for good. That's what I meant."

More queens! Just how many of them were there? Sarah struggled to control her breathing when the Goblin King spoke again, he said, his voice low and suggestive. "I assume no one has ever done that to you before. Tied you up and ..."

Sarah shot him a look. "You assume a lot of things. I'm not completely inexperienced."

"So?"

"So what?"

"Has any of those silly mortal boys ever tied you to a bed and done wicked things to you?" asked Jareth, his voice now so matter of fact that it caught Sarah off guard.

She squared her jaw and sat up straight. Defensive. "No, Jareth, they haven't. Satisfied?"

Jareth nodded. "Why should I be satisfied when you haven't been? Very well. I was simply curious. That's nothing that can't be corrected. You know, it's admirable the way you talk about love and sex, having never experienced the combination of the two yourself either. That puts us on an even footing in the bedroom, and I suppose we can find out together what role emotion plays in sex." he said devilishly, sweeping up towards the cooking supplies. "You look like you could do with a drink. You're all flushed." he said. Sarah could feel herself brooding quietly as she watched him preparing various leaves and twigs into some sort of tea. He pressed the herbs into a teapot and poured hot water over them.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Sarah. The greatest release can sometimes come from total surrender. I've had queens from kingdoms afar come to me for this very thing."

Sarah's heart was racing, and she was distraught with herself. Every sensibility told her this was outrageous, but her basest instincts were running riot. What a prospect. What a delicious prospect.

_Change the subject Sarah, change the subject IMMEDIATELY! _her mind finally screamed.

"Speaking of queens. You still haven't told me the duties of an Underground queen." she said.

"Very clever of you to change the subject like that." said Jareth, walking back over to where Sarah was sat on the carpet. It didn't escape him that her eyes had turned glassy, that her hands gripped the crystal in her hands so tight now that her knuckles were white. This poor girl continued to torture herself, when it would take no effort for her to rip those extra tight trousers off him and have her way, thought Jareth ruefully.

"You wish to hear about our queens, then that's what I shall tell you." Jareth sighed deeply as he prepared to speak. He flicked his wrist to move his floppy white sleeve out of the way as he poured them both a purplish tea.

"First of all," he said "I want you to tell me what you think a Labyrinth queen does, and I'll correct you as we go along."

Sarah took the tea he offered her. She sat cross legged before him, wearing a short sleeved blue blouse and long, burgundy gypsy skirt. Pink polka dot socks popped out from under the folds of her dress. She was under dressed as usual in the face of Jareth's elaborate fare - how did he manage to look so masculine in a shirt that frilly? She'd never know.

She took a sip of the tea. "Well, Aboveground we learn that queens come from privileged lives. They have the best of everything. They wear-"

"Gowns and jewels? Diamonds?" interjected Jareth, playfully.

Sarah shrugged "Well, don't they?"

Jareth smirked and laid his tea to one side. He got up, retrieved a sword from one of the tent's walls and turned to face Sarah. He fell into a fencing position and held the blade towards Sarah.

"A queen of the Labyrinth needs to know much more than just dancing with a sword, impressive as you were." he said. He inched closer and popped the top button of Sarah's blouse with the blade. Sarah flinched and glared at Jareth. "I liked that shirt!" she complained. "She dresses pretty close to how you are dressed now, though a little more classic. A little more like me, you might say. Not so many skirts, more riding britches, tight, stretchy material. Good for both riding horses and scaling walls if needs be." said Jareth, ignoring her little protest.

Sarah snorted and sat back on her hands. "I can't imagine a queen running around dressed like you Jareth." she said, cocking her head. "No offence."

"None taken. Our queens need to be dressed practically for their various duties. She needs to be quick in both body and mind, fair and, if needs be, harsh." He threw Sarah a sideways glance as he went to place the sword back.

"As I already told you," continued Jareth "A queen leads her army into battle, not the king. And even if she knows she is leading her troops into the jaws of death, she must not betray this to them. She must exude so much bravery that it's enough to send them to a joyful death." he reached out for Sarah's hand. Did he want to show her something? She took it and stood up with him. To her surprise, Jareth twisted her arm painfully and pinned it behind her. Sarah's face lit up with pain "Ow!" she cried. "Knock it off!"

"She needs to be able to anticipate what even those closest to her might do." said Jareth, spinning Sarah to release her before immediately grabbing her again. They were now standing as if ready to dance. The last time they had been like this… Sarah looked away.

"Sounds like a tall order."

"It is." Jareth began to move very slightly, easing the two of them into a dance around the tent.

"She needs to be able to hold her own at social events too. And, finally, she needs to be able to keep her demanding and fickle king happy." said Jareth, leaning in to hold Sarah close, closer than he had allowed himself the last time, when she was just a child. He planted a kiss against her neck. "Tell me, Sarah, are you disappointed that the life of a queen contains so few silk gowns and cream cakes?" he whispered, and she could feel him smile into the crook of her neck.

"Well that would depend on if I was interested in the position." replied Sarah, closing her eyes as she let herself relax into Jareth's embrace. "So how does one become queen of the Labyrinth? I assume it's by invitation only?"

"You may be surprised to learn that the Underground is for the most part a matriarchal society. Do you know what that means?" asked Jareth, laughing when Sarah playfully thumped him with her free arm. "Yes, Goblin King, I do know what matriarchal means." she replied.

"Women hold much of the power in our world, which is why queens have the final say in matters of state and walk ahead of kings at all official events. Without a queen, an Underground king is considered half a king.

"The only patriarchal part of the union is that the king chooses the queen. We have no particular rights or rituals when it comes to marriage. Each kingdom has it own ways of celebrating the union. For propriety's sake, a ball is usually given. In some kingdoms the queen and king must undergo a test together, such as surviving wilderness for 40 days. In some, just the declaration of living together will suffice. But in all kingdoms, the marriage becomes valid and official when-"

Jareth stopped. Sarah lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. He was staring past her at an invisible spot on the wall. When what? Was he about to say something terrible? "When?" she prompted.

Jareth stopped dancing and tightened his grip on her hand. Their dancing slowed to a stop. "Sarah, the union becomes official when the queen is with child." said Jareth, looking Sarah straight in the eye, and Sarah immediately noticed the sadness hiding in his look.

She'd almost forgotten about Cenric's curse. "Oh." she said, suddenly feeling very small. She felt her hand instinctively squeeze his. What a cruel trick to play. This Cenric character sounded completely bereft of any moral compass. "How were you ever friends with someone as awful as Cenric?" she blurted.

Jareth laughed. He went back to spinning Sarah around the room. "I've asked myself the same question many times! We all make bad choices sometimes" he said. "I assume he kept that as part of his own marriage rituals out of spite." said Sarah.

"You would think so, but Cenric is much too much of a monster for that. He takes queens and bores of them quickly. Do you know how he makes his queens prove their resilience?" he asked Sarah, stopping their dance and leading her towards the edge of the tent. Outside, the air buzzed with strange sounds of birds and creatures unknown to mortal ears.

"How?" asked Sarah.

"He makes his entire elite army bed the queen."

"You're _kidding!"_ said Sarah, shocked.

Jareth shook his head. "No, it's the truth. And he makes them do it on a bed placed on a plinth so the whole kingdom can watch."

"How big is his elite army?" asked Sarah.

"1,000 warriors."

Sarah felt revolted. "Who in their right mind would want to be his queen!" she asked, shaking her head in disgust.

"Oh you'd be surprised what flashing enough diamonds can do to even the best of women." said Jareth. "Fae are quite relaxed about matters of pleasure - fairy whoring, isn't that what you called it? - but like I said we don't use sex to inflict misery. Cenric rules a kingdom of perverts. If you knew even half of what they did - I mean they attack nymphs, for spirits' sake."

"Why is that … particularly bad?"

Jareth looked into the distance and half smiled. "In the pecking order of sensual exploits, you may be surprised to hear that Fae come second. Nymphs are number one. The way they make love, it's, it's the sweetest, most affectionate thing you could ever imagine."

Sarah found herself frowning again. Obviously Jareth was speaking from experience - again.

"So to pervert the art of sex and use it to attack nymphs is particularly cruel. They never recover from the trauma. But Cenric's palace guards do this for sport to any nymph unlucky enough to stumble across his kingdom. That's another reason he's constantly antagonising me. Nymphs are guaranteed refuge in my kingdom. Speaking of my kingdom.. come outside and take a look." said Jareth, stepping aside to allow Sarah to walk out before him, and Sarah realised she hadn't so much as peeked outside all this time.

Now she saw a forest glowing before her in what seemed to be a lingering point between twilight and daybreak, and that the tent was stood in a fairy circle. All around them, the fading light was making the forest glow. Sarah couldn't believe its incredible beauty. "Wow…" she whispered. Jareth watched her watching the forest. How mesmerised she was by what to him was by now so ordinary. She spun in place, open mouthed, the changing shades of light making her appear herself like a creature from heaven.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." said Jareth.

"I've never even imagined anything like it!" whispered Sarah. "How are you not out here all the time!"

"For practical reasons. I'd never get anything done. And I'll be honest, the forest never looks this beautiful for me. I'm used to it, you see. It's feeding off your energy right now. It's responding to you, that's why it looks so beautiful. Why don't you hold out a hand and see what it does?"

Sarah did as Jareth told her, and was amazed when miniscule iridescent specks gathered around her fingertips. She held her hands closer to her face, observing the little blue and white dots as they glowed, pulsing with her heartbeat. "What are they?"

"Bioluminescent pollen. Lovely isn't it?"

It was all lovely. It was beyond words. Sarah looked beyond the clearing and noticed the cobwebs strung between the trees, glittering and glowing with pollen caught in the dew drops. She kept on staring in utter amazement, even when Jareth came up behind her and circled her waist with his arms.

"Tell me this is real. Tell me I'm not dreaming." she whispered, not daring to blink,her own hands reaching down to Jareth's arms around her.

"Oh it's very real my precious, as real as you and I." Jareth hugged her tighter, and watched as the forest's colors flushed in response. Something caught his eye, and he turned, holding Sarah, so she could watch as a flower began to bloom at the edge of the clearing.

"Well!" said Jareth, impressed. "It seems the woods want to offer you a gift. Why don't you take it?"

Sarah tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, leaving tiny specks glowing in her hair, and went to pick the flower. Jareth laced his hands behind his back. It was remarkable how the woods were reacting to her. Was it because she was mortal, or was it because the energy she gave off right now was so pure? In all his years, this was the first time he'd seen the woods positively dance at someone's arrival. Or maybe… maybe it was his own inner peace setting off this intense spectacle.

Just as Sarah's hands reached out to touch the glimmering flower, the earth seemed to hum and shake under her feet. She quickly pulled her hand away, uncertain what to do next and looked at Jareth. He had crossed his arms and took a deep sigh, annoyed. "Looks like more than the forest knows that you're here. Come on, back to the castle."

He took Sarah by the hand and marched back to the tent as she turned to cast a wistful glance at the flower that was now quietly fading at the edge of the clearing as the whole forest began to gently melt into darkness, losing its lights and its colours. Jareth threw aside the tent's opening and strode in, only this time they walked straight back into the dining room of the castle. When Sarah turned around, the tent's fabric drape had turned into the door. Everything was the way it had been. A delicious smelling dinner was laid out on the table, and the fire crackled noisily in the fireplace.

"What just happened?" demanded Sarah. "Someone, or something knew you were in the woods, and since I couldn't place what it was, I thought it best to leave our adventures for another time." said Jareth, leading her to sit by the fireplace. "Stay here." he ordered, waltzing back to the dining table, his shoes thumping purposefully on the wooden floorboards. Jareth breathed deep. That had been a little too close. He quickly assembled two plates and took them back to the fireplace.

"We're going to eat on the floor?" Sarah asked, bemused. Jareth nodded and began tearing at pieces of bread with his gloved hands. "Yes. I eat at a table like that every day. It's such a bore. This is so much more … companionable, don't you think?" he said, grinning.

When they finished eating, Jareth once again cleared up the plates. He wiped his gloved hands on a napkin and came back over to sit with Sarah. Somewhere deep in the palace, a clock began to strike. "Well Sarah, it would seem that the time of your departure is approaching." he said seriously.

Jareth eased his gloves off and poured them each a glass of goblin wine. "Tell me something." he asked casually, and Sarah braced herself for whatever mischief was about to come out of his mouth now. _Such a smart ass! _"Will you think of me when you leave?"

That caught her off guard. "Oh!" she looked into her cup and then back at Jareth. His face was half lit by the fireplace, golden hair flaming out in every direction. And he was watching her, not flinching as he waited for her reply. Jareth. This castle, this fire. His bed. His hands. How could she _not_ think of him? "Yes. I will Jareth. These few days have been… I'll never forget them. It's just so much to think about, so much to take in. I don't think I even have words to describe them."

Jareth set his cup down. "Sometimes words don't suffice, don't you think?" he said. Sarah nodded. The fireplace crackled between them for a few silent moments. Sarah chewed her lip. What was this sinking feeling she had in her heart? Jareth had been right when they first departed for this place. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to go up to the normality, the ordinary life of up there.

"When will I see you again?" she asked.

Just then a goblin burst through the door. "Sires! Yer carriage awaitings!" he said, clattering across the floor with various pieces of riding gear and armor falling around him. Jareth sighed and gave Sarah a knowing look. "Let's go, I'll escort you back Aboveground."

It was night time now. Dark, just as when she had arrived. Just a few short days and it seemed like so long ago. She had arrived here completely suspicious, but she was leaving with her heart full of questions, and… longing.

Jareth said nothing. He didn't know how to answer her question. He wanted to see her again. Soon. He didn't want her to leave in fact. But he had a kingdom to run. Unless the Oracle sent for them within the next few weeks, it might end up being a while. He stepped aside and ushered Sarah into the carriage. As before, they sat on opposite sides of the carriage. And with a tap on the ceiling, they rumbled away.

Neither said anything. Jareth was watching her intently, one arm draped over the back of the seat, the other on his knee. The carriage rocked gently, making the tendrils of Sarah's hair sway ever so slightly. He smiled, noticing the remnants of the magical pollen glowing in her locks. Now a game of patience lay before him, a game to see which of the two would blink first.

Sarah gulped. After everything, this goodbye seemed so, well so… ordinary. She was confused. Hadn't he said that he was going to give her a sendoff to remember, or something like that. _Well whatever, as if I care! It's just animal lust! I'm so above that. _If she dared to admit it, she felt a little disappointed. And empty. When would she see him again? Time seemed to tick by. Sarah noticed Jareth hadn't put his gloves back on. Little insignificant details in the carriage caught her eye.

The curve of Jareth's thigh in those fantastically tight grey trousers. His arched eyebrows. His bare hands. Those fingers. All over her. Was she becoming flushed? Images of what he had done to her flashed through her mind, and realised how badly she wanted more. But she'd never admit it. Never. She couldn't. Her breathing was starting to become fragmented. And all the while, Jareth watched her. He pursed his lips just to relish the way her gaze floated to the movement and froze there. And then, every so slowly, he rose and leaned into Sarah, placing an arm on the carriage wall behind Sarah's head.

"This is all taking a tiresomely long time, don't you think? Getting back to the gateway for the Aboveground, I mean." said Jareth. Sarah was frozen, watching his lips move but not really listening. Say the right words… do the right things… hadn't he said? Something to remember him by? Hadn't he said that?

A slow, predatory smile spread across Jareth's lips. "You thought I was going to let you leave that easily, didn't you? No such luck, my precious. How shall we pass the time? What game do you want to play, Sarah? Hmmm?" he asked her, his mismatched eyes boring into hers. "How about an easy game, one you know? Like I spy?" He leaned towards her, and instinctively Sarah found herself leaning away the closer he crawled, cat-like in his demeanor. She was incredibly aroused. He could smell it radiating off her, and it was divine.

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with S." murmured Jareth. Those eyes. How had she never noticed how blue they were before, the little dark lines in the irises? The hollow of his neck, so close how she could feel the heat radiating onto her. Why were her lips burning to kiss it?

"Give up?" whispered Jareth "Sarah...shirt," he said, hooking a finger at the collar of her shirt and easing it downwards. The buttons began to gave way with ridiculous ease. Sarah caught his hands around his wrists, and he felt the tremble in her fingers, saw her chest rise and fall with her breath. "Skin, sin," said Jareth, and Sarah's breath caught in her throat. Jareth met her eyes. He freed his hands and pushed her shirt open. A tiny, almost imperceptible cry left the back of Sarah's throat. When he bent down and kissed the skin between her collarbone, Sarah gasped and she felt her grip tighten around him. "Salvation…. Seduction… siren…. " said Jareth, and the rest of the shirt slid off her, lying in a helpless heap around her waist. Jareth's kisses went lower to her belly. He ignored her grip on his arms and gently bit the skin around her hips, skirting around the waistband of her skirt "And one more thing that starts with S. Can you guess what it is? Should I go any further Sarah, or should I stop and make sure you'll think of me later. Maybe I should leave you like this, let you finish up what I've started."

Sarah began to wriggle under him. Don't you dare, she wanted to shout. But she couldn't , the words, they just wouldn't come. A drop of sweat poured off her forehead. Was this carriage moving even slower now? Jareth distracted her thoughts, pressing hungrily on her breast and really getting her attention.

There was that blooming feeling again. That blossoming deep within. It was burning right through her core. He'd been toying with her all day. All day long. Layer upon layer of teasing added one on top of the other. _Oh Jareth! _Sarah moaned and took him by surprise. "Should I take your silence as agreement with my plan? You're very ready, my precious," murmured Jareth. "Just say that right words, and I will make you wish you could spend every single night at my side, or would you prefer under me? On top of me? The choice is yours." he said huskily.

With a force he didn't know she had, she pushed herself into him, slamming him backward on the seat of the carriage so hard that she felt it wobble. But she didn't care. Jareth couldn't believe the ecstatic sight of Sarah over him, her brown hair flying around her perfect oval face, the force of her passion when her hot lips began to kiss him viciously. She clawed at him, biting his lips and growling like an animal when he bit her back. She was burning with passion, letting it devour her, making confused sounds and breathing so hard now. Jareth felt the heat of her breath, saw the wild look in her eyes. He pulled her face back from his and searched her hazel eyes which were glassed over with ecstasy. A smile broke across his face. "I see your wild streak is still alive and well." he said, before slamming Sarah back down onto the seat and pinning her hands on either side of her head.

Red-face and sweating, Sarah didn't know what she must look like. She didn't care. She was balanced perfectly on the edge, trying desperately to reach Jareth's lips again, which he was playfully keeping just out of reach of her nips, using his strength to his advantage. This feeling. This pain. Why did it drive her so ballistic? How could she want anyone, no, need anyone's touch this much? "Now Sarah," he said, easing his body against hers, and she felt then what she didn't even need to feel, what his tight clothes had made obvious to her already and she turned her blushed face and moaned into the carriage seat. "What do you think might happen if some silly Aboveground boy pulled some silly Aboveground moves on you and seduced you away from me?"

Sarah shook her head wildly. "N… no … no one… there is no one…"

Jareth bent in to let her steal one hungry kiss. "Well it's not a chance I'm willing to take. I think I should give you a proper send off, just to make sure, don't you?"

Sarah arched her back and pushed against him. This time they landed on the floor of the carriage and Jareth sucked him breath in from the pain of the impact. "Aaah!" he said relishing the flash of pain. Sarah pinned him, her hands on his chest. "You're one to talk, I've spent the whole day listening to you talking about your various conquest. It's… it's been maddening… it's made me-"

"It's made you hot as hell by the looks of it." murmured Jareth, sinking his hands into her hair and drawing her down for a kiss. She struggled again, and it was obvious that her passion was so intense, her desire so strong, that it was flying in every direction. Her movements were frantic, confused, conflicted. She clawed at Jareth, bit at him, all the while the faintest trace of melancholy hanging in the back of each kiss. Jareth broke away from her onslaught. He rolled her control away again and lifted her back onto the seat of the carriage now. Somewhere in their passionate fight, he'd taken her bra off and she hadn't even noticed. "Sarah," he said. "Don't fight me. We aren't enemies any more."

Fire was flashing in Sarah's eyes. She was beyond caring about her messy hair, her bruised lips, her half naked body as her chest rose and fell. What a sight she was to Jareth. What an absolute treat, one he longed to sink himself into and be lost forever. "Lovers are always enemies in some way or the other, Jareth." gasped Sarah.

Jareth cocked an eyebrow "How very wise of you!" He leaned in, kissing Sarah's neck and lacing his fingers with hers, holding them in place on the seat. Sarah sank into the seat, giving in at last, letting him guide the situation. Her outburst had been building all day, and now she sat on the cusp of her burgeoning release. "Soon we'll have to part ways. And I don't know when it is I can see you again. So I want you to think of me." said Jareth, reaching the exposed skin of her breasts. He kissed his way between them. "And when you think of me, I want you to think of this." he said, teasing each nipple with his teeth. Sarah began to writhe immediately, her face burning with both desire and embarrassment. Jareth carried on licking his tongue leisurely, painfully over her, and each time he hit the nipple, Sarah let out a moan in spite of herself, tossing her head to look away. "Ah… oh God…" she breathed, squeezing her eyes and her knees shut. "I don't know why I'm here…" she whimpered, her body bucking under each of Jareth's touches.

"Yes, yes you do. This is exactly where you should be, and exactly where I should be." said Jareth, releasing one of her hands and sinking it between her legs. Sarah's knees gave out and she shifted into his touch in spite of herself, her eyes trying desperately to focus on something.

"You've got yourself into quite a state here, my darling Sarah." said Jareth. The heat was burning through her clothes. Jareth could feel all of her, so willing to be touched. So willing for so much more if she only said the right words. Sarah's hands curled into fists. "This is all your fault…" whispered Sarah, her breath coming in sharp, shallow bursts now. Jareth kept a hand there, letting it move with the motion of the carriage. The rocking created an incredible tension, gently pushing Sarah closer and closer to the edge.

Sarah let her head fall to the side. "Why do I want this, why do I want this! I shouldn't want this!" she moaned, responding to each of Jareth's movements.

"Oh how wrong you are Sarah. You want this because this is how it should be. The whole point of this enterprise was to get to know each other better, and that's what we have done. That's what we continue to do." When Jareth's hand made it past her underwear and against her bare skin, she didn't realise. But the air suddenly became very still, and Sarah could hear her ragged breathing. That's when she realised how heavy Jareth's breathing was too. He was barely touching her at first, gently circling there, her own arousal doing half the work for him.

Sarah felt herself start to go limp as Jareth began to build the pressure down there, and gasped when she felt his finger slide into her. "Jareth, don't…" she moaned, gripping the edge of the seat, her eyes shut and sweat gathering on her brow. She didn't want him to stop. But she couldn't bring herself to ask for more. "You're always so passive, my sweet thing," said Jareth, his voice husky with lust. "I plan to explore the full boundaries of just how passive you can be the next time I see you." he said. "I want to hear you beg for me, to move against my every touch. I'll bring you to that point where the right words spill from you. Do you want that?" he asked, lazily moving his finger inside her. Pleasure began to flood Sarah's body.

"Answer me, do you want me to push you to the very edge of what you know? To take you on that journey, Sarah?" asked Jareth, fondling her breast with his free hand and lowering his head to pluck at the nipple with his lips.

"Yes!" moaned Sarah. Her whole body was on fire from Jareth's layering of one pleasure over the other, but she was still playing the game. She still wouldn't move in response to him. Every fibre of her body worked to keep her hips firmly in place. She'd beat Jareth once. She'd beat him again.

"Good. You continue to resist me, and if we're to venture as far as oracles and destinies, you will have to submit to me, and I will make it happen. For now, this will have to do." said Jareth. Sarah turned her head as he began to kiss her neck, pressing into her breast with one hand. The other slowed to an agonising stop, only the movements of the carriage sending vibrations through Jareth's hand and into Sarah. She was beyond help now, Jareth saw, panting heavily , her hands in fists from the effort of not giving in to the pleasure.

Without warning, Jareth moved his lips lower and gently bit down on her breast, moving his other hand around and around, faster and faster, so fast that it overwhelmed Sarah's every sense and she arched her back and screamed as he forced her pleasure out of her. He didn't relent as her body rocked and shuddered and she tossed her head crying out in every direction. "My name, Sarah," he demanded, barely able to keep himself from giving in to his own pleasure. "Oh my God, Jareth!" Sarah moaned, and Jareth kept the pace going for a few more moments until suddenly the carriage began to slow.

A knock from the roof let Jareth know they had arrived. What bad timing. "Well, my love, I've made quite a mess of your here." said Jareth, buttoning up Sarah's shirt as she lay spent on the seat of the carriage, staring at his movements in a daze. Her eyes moved to the window and she blinked. There was the disused Underground tube station again, the one she had embarked from.

"We…. we're here?" she asked weakly.

"Unfortunately" replied Jareth. He smoothed her skirt down over her legs and grinned as he fanned her face. "You're all flushed." he said, relishing that it was he who had made her that way. Sarah could only nod, and gratefully accept the handkerchief which Jareth conjured for her.

Jareth was kneeling before her now, holding his chin as his elbow rested on his knee. His eyes were narrowed as he watched Sarah try to regain her composure. She self consciously patted her neck. "What?" she asked, smiling.

"You fight me. You don't submit to me."

"I do fight you." replied Sarah.

"It would be more fun if you didn't. Why do you fight?" asked Jareth.

Sarah shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

Jareth nodded and stood to open the carriage door. "We'll have time enough to find out on your next visit."

Sarah reluctantly shifted from her seat and got her bag. "When will I see you Jareth?"

Jareth leaned against the carriage door frame, one hand resting over the door. God, he looked so good when he did that. "I'll send word, my precious." he said gently, caressing her cheek as she moved towards the door. He tipped his head and scrutinised her. "One last touch." he said, running his hands through her hair.

Then he kissed her gently and stepped back for her to disembark. "There. That's better." said Jareth. "Off you go now."

Sarah turned to look at him one last time, drinking in all of him, before stepping onto the platform. No sooner than she did than the carriage sped off, disappearing into the dark tunnel. That's when Sarah noticed the drunk sitting at the far end of the platform. Who knew how he'd managed to get in there. He stared at her, looking completely mistified. She saw him lift his can to his nose and sniff it, then toss it onto the tracks, shaking his head and swearing as he got up to stumble away.

Sarah made her way back to her flat as if in a dream. Had any of it happened? Had any of it been real? What the hell was she getting herself into. Back home, she leaned against the door to shut it, her mind racing with hundreds of thoughts. Her little flat. This had been her world. Why did it now seem so empty? Her body was still alight from earlier, and that just made her feel lonelier than ever.

Sarah sighed a deep, full, heavy, lovelorn sigh, and got up to wash her face. That seemed a good a place as any to get back to normal life, however she was supposed to do that. It was when she looked up again that she dropped her towel and smiled. Then she began to laugh at her own reflection, her heart soaring in her chest. Her reflection laughed back with her, her reflection with its dark hair styled elaborately into that of a queen, Jareth's parting gift and his message to her. A crowning glory, just like in the magical ballroom. Sarah reached up to touch its curls and jewels, and laughed even harder.


	15. Chapter 15: Stranger Things

**AN: Thank you all for sticking with me! Trying to move things along a bit faster now so we get to the good bits. Maralis who you'll read about is actually someone I saw in a dream and decided to use in the story (she was creepy as hell). The cliffhanger at the end is not a major plotline. It's a realisation that needs to start happening now for the rest of the plot to work. Stay with it, my lovelies, I can't wait to bring these two together again soon. I won't be able to update for a few weeks, so please be patient and enjoy! Feedback always appreciated!**

Sarah sat looking at Rosa, her cheeks burning. She'd just told her everything - well, almost everything - and now she watched as Rosa took a long drag of her wine. The two of them were sat sprawled on the floor of Rosa's lounge, making the most of her flatmate being out. Two days had passed since Sarah had got back, and at last the two had found some time to sit and talk. Sarah needed it badly. She tried her best to mask it, but she knew she was a lost cause. She was falling for Jareth, and falling hard.

"Well?" said Sarah, looking at her friend who was staring back at her, biting her lip the way she did when she was confused. "Say something…" She drew a squiggle in the mist of her own wine glass.

Rosa set her glass down with a loud thunk and looked at Sarah. She took a deep, long breath and finally said "You know, I feel like I've known you forever, but I just don't get you Sarah!" she said.

"Huh?"

Rosa leaned forward, sinking her fingertips into the red hair at her temples. "Sarah… it's a hymen, not a Ming dynasty vase! Just go ahead and break the bloody thing and have fun!" she said.

Sarah sat back, rolling her eyes. "That's all you took from everything I just told you?"

Rosa shrugged, picking up her glass again. "What else is there to take? You have this incredibly hot weekend with your mystery man, you let him do all sorts of things to you, but you stop short of letting him screw your brains out, even though you desperately want him to. I don't get it."

"I did _not_ desperately want him to!" hissed Sarah, quickly looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on them. As if there would be… if only there would be. Was Jareth watching her now?

Rosa shook her head, her curls bouncing as she did. "Nope. You can't lie to me Sarah. I can tell even now just with you telling me this story, you want him so badly it's killing you, so explain."

Sarah opened her mouth, trying to think of something to say. Instead she groaned, a loud, throaty groan, and sank onto the carpet. She covered her head with her arms, lying like that for a minute and listening to the music on Rosa's stereo - a love song, why a love song. Then she rolled over, looking at the ceiling. Rosa drained her glass and lay down next to her, so the two of them lay head to head, just staring at the ceiling. The CD playing stopped, and began automatically playing from the start again.

"Oh Rosa," groaned Sarah. She breathed all the way out, letting her body relax as much as she could. "It's the craziest thing that's ever happened to me. It's like every part of me is just dying for him. When I'm with him, I can feel every cell in me just gravitating to him. I mean, there's a chemistry there that's completely off the scale. I didn't even know such a thing could exist."

Rosa clasped her hands over her chest and listened. "It sounds bloody hot! If you went for it I don't think the two of you would come out of the bedroom for a month! You'd just lie in bed screwing all day and all night among all the beer cans and takeaway boxes. Hubba hubba!"

She whistled a low, long whistle, and Sarah smiled. She rolled over onto her belly and propped herself up onto her elbows. How could she say what she wanted to say next? She barely had the words to say it, but her emotions were driving her on, desperate to get the words out. "Call me crazy, but it's more than that, Rosa." she said finally, her dark lashes lowering as she looked her friend in her eyes.

"More?" said Rosa, copying Sarah so she too lay propped on her elbows, her face in her elbows.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Rosa… it's like I'm connected to him. I don't know how to explain it. He's all I think about, all I dream about. It's not just that I have this feeling like I don't know how to … how to _be _without him. It's like there's a mutiny inside me. I don't _want_ to be without him. I'm tired of being without him. I was without him long enough. And it's the most terrifying thing I've ever felt, needing someone as badly as this, but being so damn scared I'll blink and it'll all have been an illusion."

Rosa nodded. "Wow…So why don't you just go see him again?"

Sarah laced her fingers together and lowered her head onto her hands, talking into the carpet again. "It's complicated. This guy has got under my skin like I couldn't imagine. I want to surrender myself to him completely. Imagine, me! I'm not like that... Rosa, what am I going to do…"

"What is there to do? Sounds to me like you're in love! Enjoy it!"

"But it's horrible! I feel so … so lost! It's like he's inside the blood in my veins! If you only knew, I can't even tell you what one look from him does to me. He looks at me and I feel like it's both the end and the beginning of my life, like this is how it was always meant to be, and it terrifies me inside. And when he touches me… oh Rosa. I don't go any further because it just takes him touching my hand to make me feel like I'll lose it. It's so crazy. His touch, his kiss, it's like nothing I've ever known, and then again, it's so familiar. I want to be with him, so much, but I am so so scared that it'll overwhelm me and open some door inside me that I can't ever shut again, and I just don't know what's behind that door."

Sarah's voice broke and Rosa was as surprised as Sarah was when tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She bit her lip trying to stop them, but when Rosa reached out to her friend in concern, Sarah couldn't hold them back any more. She covered her face, feeling ridiculous about crying like this, and sat up cross-legged, letting Rosa shift next to her and envelope her in a warm hug.

"Shhhh… don't cry you silly thing!" she hushed as Sarah tried to stop herself. It was no use though. The tears kept coming.

"It's like I'm joined with him, you know what I mean?" she asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

Rosa nodded, smiling at Sarah. "That's called being in love, darling." she said, bringing Sarah's glass to her lips. "Everything reminds me of him. I miss him so much." said Sarah, finally confessing. It was no use. She was totally helpless in the face of her overwhelming feelings for Jareth, and she was ready to admit all of them now. She let out a little sob. All those hours in the Labyrinth and all those years since and she was now admitting what had been there all along. Sarah was in love. "I didn't know I could fall so hard in love. It scares the shit out of me!" she said, sniffling.

"Ahhhh and there we have it." said Rosa. Sarah looked at her, curious. Rosa grinned. "You just admitted you're in love with Jareth. First step to getting better is admitting you have a problem. My name's Sarah, and I'm in love, that sort of thing."

Sarah took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. "Rosa, I'm floored. I'm a lost cause with this guy. And the crazy thing is at the start of this year if you'd told me any of this, I would have died laughing. Jareth was someone I did not want to even see."

Rosa shook her head now. "You're lying again. You can't have fallen this hard this fast. Truth be told you've probably been in love with this guy for awhile now. Maybe even years."

How did Rosa know her so well. Sarah tried to stop her crying, and Rosa decided to distract her. "So, let's see him then."

"Huh?"

"Show me a picture of him." said Rosa.

Sarah sniffled, suddenly caught out. "I.. I don't have one."

Rosa narrowed her eyes "Man it must have been white hot between you two for you to not even remember taking a picture. Never mind, easily fixed." She leapt up and rummaged around in a drawer, coming back to sit with Sarah as she clutched a pad and her sketching pencils.

"Lucky for you portraits are my thing! Now start describing."

And Sarah, too lovesick to protest, began with Jareth's mismatched eyes.

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An hour later, Rosa was done. "Ta dah!" she said, holding up the drawing for Sarah. Sarah's eyes instantly softened and she carefully took the piece of paper. It was an amazing likeness. Rosa truly was gifted. And she was right. Sarah had spent years committing every detail of Jareth's face to memory, and holding his likeness in her hands really did make her feel better.

"Thank you, sweetheart." she said.

"You're welcome. Gotta say, I really didn't expect a guy like that to be your style. He's quite out there, huh?" said Rosa.

Sarah nodded. "Yep. He sure is something else."

"Interesting eyes. Very unusual." Rosa yawned, the wine and the time getting to her and Sarah realised how late it had got. "I better make a move. Work tomorrow."

She gathered her things and hugged her friend. Rosa truly cared for her. She couldn't think of anyone else who would stay up like this on a weekday night, erasing and re-sketching for a full hour just to make sure she captured Jareth's eyes exactly as Sarah wanted. Rosa hugged her deeply. It was so sweet seeing her hard-shelled best friend finally crack and fall so desperately in love she didn't know what to do with herself. Rosa hoped Jareth was worth it. She'd have his hide if he wasn't! She waved her friend off and shut the door behind her.

Standing under the hot jets of her shower, Rosa chewed her lip. She'd always had a knack for drawing, a natural talent, and knocking together pictures like this was something she loved to do. But this one was unusual. There was something about that face she was sure she'd seen before. Then she shook her head. Ridiculous. She'd remember eyes like that if she'd ever seen them before. Through the sound of the water she heard her flatmate yell out to let her know she was back, and Rosa went back to washing the Goblin King out of her hair.

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Jareth sat staring at the roaring fireplace in his castle at the center of the Labyrinth. It was enormous, almost big enough for him to walk into without ducking. Two days ago he had abruptly ordered everyone to return to the castle and leave the forest on the edge of the realms. The goblins had been intrigued, but had obeyed nonetheless. Their king was prone to his whims. They had all noticed though, that he had escorted the girl right back to Aboveground. No one dared to joke about it in Jareth's presence, but the goblins were already making up limericks about the dark haired beauty from Aboveground who stole the king's heart.

Jareth, meanwhile, had fallen absolutely silent, and that was always a bad sign. It meant that when he finally exploded, the results would be felt for days if not weeks. The convoy had been ordered to leave in waves for extra security. Tribble had been tied up with state business, but now as Jareth heard the door creak, he knew his friend and advisor was in the room too.

Jareth leaned his weight onto his forearm resting on the fireplace, his other hand resting on his waist. He didn't wait for Tribble to speak.

"What was it."

Tribble, who had been dreading this entire conversation, clasped his hands neatly together and began to relay everything he knew.

"A Seeker, your highness."

Jareth whipped his head around to look at Tribble now. A Seeker? In his forest? This was even worse than he'd thought. "And how in the name of all the good gods did a Seeker get into MY forest?" he hissed. There had been precautions against this. Perhaps Sarah's presence had been more powerful than he'd anticipated. He could only thank the gods that the forest had warned her that something wasn't right as she reached out to touch it. Seeing that Tribble had no answer, Jareth continued.

"Do we know which alliance the Seeker is from?" he said, his words as measured and calm as he could manage.

Tribble noticed that Jareth was turned away again, arms crossed and legs distanced as he glowered at the fire. He also noticed the chair within Jareth's reach and wheezily eased himself to the ground to duck behind a table. He knew what was about to follow.

"It was Maralis."

There was an almighty roar from Jareth and a whoosh in the air as Jareth picked up the chair and threw it at the wall. It landed some distance from Tribble and splintered into pieces. Jareth continued to throw and smash things until he finally stopped, punching his gloved fist into the wall. How could he have been such a fool? He'd let his emotions get the better of him and taken Sarah to the forest without making absolutely sure that she would go undetected by the various bounty hunters who roamed its edges.

And of all of them, Maralis was the absolute worst. All Seekers had skin as dark as the night so as to go unseen, and with each bounty they brought in, they received a diamond which they wore on their skin. It was said that all anyone ever saw of Maralis before she struck her fatal blow were the whites of her eyes, her unnerving smile and the thousands of diamonds glittering all over her skin.

Jareth didn't have to think to hard about who might have sent her. The thought made him sick. Such a happy time for him could have ended in disaster. He took a few breaths to calm himself, his knuckle still throbbing from the pain of punching the wall.

Tribble, meanwhile, had got out from under the table and had dusted himself down neatly. "Sire, if I may, all the energy cleansers have completed their work and Black moss has been planted throughout the forest. She won't be able to come back."

Jareth nodded. Tribble suppressed a smile. As angry as Jareth was, he knew him inside out, and he knew that his prickly king's temper tantrum just now had more to do with the safety of Sarah than anything else. He was using his anger to mask another emotion. The Goblin King was in love, and Tribble never thought he'd live to see the day. He made a mental note to discreetly ensure that an extra energy cleanse was carried out and the goblins who operated the kingdom's communication network all received a message to spread: stop not the dark haired maiden, she stands above. That was language that all levels of creatures in the kingdom would understand: Sarah was special, and she was to have all the help and protection required while she was in the kingdom.

Jareth's shoulders had slumped a little as he surveyed the wrecked room. He felt a little embarrassed. Even if Maralis had turned up, unless Sarah was all alone she couldn't have attacked her. Jareth hadn't been the best elite warrior for nothing. His reflexes were razor sharp. One flick of the wrist and Sarah would have been sent away somewhere safe while he dealt with Maralis or any other Seekers.

Why couldn't it just be straightforward, he wondered. But most of all, why wasn't Sarah here? That made him feel especially bad. Love was one thing, animal attraction and the desire to tear off her clothes and spend the rest of his days ravishing her was another, but he didn't expect to miss her this much. He missed her simply being around. He scratched his head, feeling a little foolish. He was grateful when Tribble spoke.

"My king, this girl seems quite unique."

Jareth nodded. This was something coming from good old Tribble, who had been at his side from the start and had spent so many mornings dusting out women from Jareth's bedsheets without blinking.

"That she is, Tribble. And I must say, missing having her around is quite inconvenient."

Tribble smiled broadly now. It was time to tell Jareth some good news for a change.

"This should be welcome news, then. I received a blue dove from the Oracle this morning."

Jareth immediately relaxed his stance and looked at Tribble, his eyes alight with anticipation. 'Splendid!" he said, clapping his hands together. Yes, splendid indeed. If the last message had been a black crystal, meaning the wait was long, a blue dove meant the time was near, and the next message would be a walnut. The walnut, when processed by the court sorcerer, would reveal the time and place for Jareth and Sarah's meeting with the Oracle. "Well Tribble my friend, that has cheered me up. I feel like celebrating. Have a large bottle of wine and Zelda sent to my bedchambers."

Tribble was wrong footed. Zelda? The finest courtesan in the Labyrinth? But what about Sarah? He huffed as he bowed, grumbling quietly to himself and already feeling defensive for Sarah. But orders were orders. Looks like the old Jareth wasn't gone after all.

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Zelda walked quietly into Jareth's bedchambers and found him already in his nightclothes and sitting on the bed, half the wine drunk. It had been a very long time since she'd seen him, and she smiled.

Jareth heard her come in and turned to her "Zelda! Come in, old friend. It's been a while." Jareth could see that she looked exquisite as always.

Zelda walked to Jareth's bed and reached out to stroke his cheek, slipping one shoulder out of her loose dress. This was the way she had always started with him when he used to call for her. But it had been a while now, and she wasn't surprised when he caught her hand to stop her.

"You've misunderstood, dear lady. Sit! I want to ask you something."

Another time and another place and Jareth would have already been naked and enjoying his first round of the night with Zelda. But it was different now. Tonight, he wanted something else from her. Zelda belonged to the courtesan race of the Underground. They made lovers so exceptional that both men and women had been driven mad with the desire they could induce.

But the courtesan race did not know how to fall in romantic love. They had no such emotions. They prided themselves on their skills as lovers and advisors - meeting as many people on an intimate basis as they did made them adept at negotiating and diplomacy. Along the way, they also learnt all there was to learn about matters of love, being able to give advice without the complication of their own emotions to cloud their judgement, and a more discreet ear was hard to find in the kingdom.

Zelda sat next to Jareth and poured herself some wine while she listened. "Zelda, how do you please a woman?"

Zelda smiled her brilliant smile. "From my time with you, I'd say you are highly adept at pleasing a woman, good sir!" she said, raising a glass.

Jareth shook his head. "No, no, not like that. The strangest thing has happened. A girl, there is a girl who I want to make happy."

He was watching her intently, and Zelda understood now. "It depends on what you want from her."

"Everything. I want everything she has to give, and more. But the strange thing is, my friend, I want to give her everything too."

Zelda downed a second glass quickly. She'd cleared her schedule for the night, but now she saw that wouldn't be necessary. "Well good sir then you know how to please a woman! All you have to do is give yourself to her, keep your promises, respect her and not hurt her. I do hope time has changed that last point. I have heard an encyclopedia's worth of broken hearts from the women who've crossed paths with you."

Jareth's eyes darkened. "That's what bothers me."

Zelda got up to leave again. What luck, she'd have an evening free tonight. The king was in love. He just didn't know it yet. "Then the one thing you must make sure of, Jareth, is that you protect her from your sharp edges. Cut yourself if you have to. But don't cut her."

Jareth drank a little more. "I'm going to tell you something, but you must swear on your life you won't tell anyone."

Zelda nodded for him to go on.

"Her name is Sarah. She's the one who beat my Labyrinth. She came to me as a petulant child, and turned into the most fascinating creature. Zelda, I think I'm in love with her."

Zelda grinned. "Then enjoy it. She must be very special. I would be glad to offer you any more advice. I must say, though I have enjoyed your company, it warms my heart to see that you don't want me in your bed tonight."

"I know. Sarah must be the first mortal to know witchcraft." said Jareth. He heard Zelda shut the door as quietly as he'd heard her open it. The courtesan class made good friends because their intuition was outstanding. She'd understood that Jareth wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now, and no sooner was she gone than Jareth's mind immediately turned to Sarah.

A blue dove. He could barely wait for the next messenger. It was well past the hour for anyone to be awake, but first thing in the morning Jareth would send word with his messenger for Sarah to be ready to make the journey. The emptiness of his bed bothered him. No Sarah to touch tonight, none of her blushes and quirky conversation in the morning. Why had he had the bed made this big in the first place? Well, if things moved as he wanted them to, it wouldn't be empty for that long. Jareth walked to his desk, brushing his blond hair out of his eyes as he began to write the letter.

JJJJJJJ

It was very late, but Rosa couldn't sleep. Why was she still thinking about the picture she'd drawn for Sarah? Somewhere in her mind it connected with her grandmother. Nana Lucy who would visit the family from her tiny village in Ireland and tell the most fantastic stories.

Rosa felt sad then. Her Nana was long gone, but she remembered one story she told about the time she say the leprechaun who took away naughty children. Rosa had roared with laughter as her Nana told the story, but she was always dead serious. "It isn't at all funny Rosa!" she would say. "You be good or someone might call him and take you away too. I've seen him! He came to take my best friend Betty's little sister away because she called him!"

And so the 10 year old Rosa had drawn a picture according to her Nana's description and when she was done, she had held it up. Her grandmother had covered her eyes and said "Oh take it away! I don't want to see that awful man! And if you see him, you run a mile! He is bad news!"

So how did all these piece connect together? She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled down an old suitcase from the top of her cupboard. It was now nearly 2 am, but Rosa began to dig through it, looking for the box where she kept her random pieces of paper. Just when she was about to stop for being so silly - a child stealing leprechaun indeed - she found the piece of paper. Who knows why she'd kept it, but it was still crisp because she had barely even looked at it again after the she'd drawn it.

Rosa gulped and unfolded the paper. She blinked. "Holy fuck. What the hell was in that wine?"

It was a bit smudged and the years had honed her talent significantly, but there he was. There was no mistaking it. Staring back at her from the piece of paper was the Goblin King.


	16. Chapter 16: A letter to my lover

Happy new year! Sorry this took so long, I hope you enjoy it and I' dying to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Jareth sat in his throne room, one leg cocked over the armrest like he usually did, and tried to get his mind together. The room was a mess as usual, but at least it was empty. He had sent all the goblins on a quest to gather vikingwort, a plant he knew grew only in one corner of the kingdom. It would keep them busy all day. He conjured a crystal and rolled it back and forth between both hands.

He rubbed his eyes with a gloved hand. There had been a wish-away last night after a long time. The child had come to them in a state, and her guardian had half-heartedly poked around the Labyrinth for a few hours. When Jareth had re-appeared to her after 13 hours were up, she had shrugged nonchalantly. "Keep her, no one back there cares either way." she'd said. "Can I go back now? I was halfway through a really good joint when you turned up."

Jareth had dismissed her. How thoughtless some people could be. The child had been cleaned and fed - she ate ravenously - and handed over to a goblin family that had wept with joy as they welcomed her into their home. If only mortals appreciated how precious children were.

Now, he was trying to rest, but his mind was full of thoughts of Sarah. He took the crystal and held it up. Labyrinth runs were rarely taxing for him - no one had ever kept him on his toes during a run of the Labyrinth the way Sarah had - but nonetheless he was obliged to wait out the 13 hours to ensure that whoever ran the maze didn't come to any harm, and this often meant staying awake into the night. So many had passed through his maze now. Jareth peered ruefully into the crystal in his hands. He couldn't break the curse, but he'd had to make certain adjustments to it.

These days, he sent the goblins ahead to check if there was indeed a child to be taken. He'd learnt his lesson after the early years when people still believed in this sort of thing, and when his reputation spread among adolescent girls. The result was that they kept wishing away non-existent children just to conjure Jareth and try and seduce him. And it had worked plenty of times. He'd been younger then, and bored, looking for ways to burn off the constant stress he was under running such a disorderly kingdom so prone to attacks. The girls were a fun distraction. It seemed harmless enough.

But that had created its own problems. As his obligations as a king grew, he started to find these encounters a waste of time. He had goblin families to answer to who were awaiting a child of their own. He had no choice but to attend every wish-away personally, and as soon as he was gone, word would go out to a goblin family to prepare for the child. The teenage girls and their pursuit of him began to bore him. He didn't have time to appear in a puff of glitter to every teenager undergoing a fantasy-tinged sexual awakening.

After the same girl carried out a wish-away eight times in the space of a week, each time trying harder and harder to seduce him, the game had turned from a bit of silly fun into an enormous irritation. He sent her to run the labyrinth as punishment, and when her time was up, he fetched her from the where she'd ended up and wiped her memory, including the right words to conjure him.

After that, he had started sending the goblins ahead, and they would confirm whether there really was a child to be taken or not. It saved a lot of time, although these days so few people wished children away that time was something he found was no longer in such short supply.

Now, Jareth sat awake, unable to silence his restless thoughts. He conjured a vision into the crystal. It was Sarah, as she had been in the ballroom, iridescent in her beauty. But this time it was Sarah in the present day, a woman now, no longer the confused girl. He watched her image glide around the ballroom, looking, searching. Seeking him out without knowing that's what she was looking for. Then, his mask fell and she saw him.

She didn't understand. He had dropped his mask for her, showing her his true self. She was

too young then. But in the illusion he held in his fingertips, she was older. A woman whose every curve filled that ball gown to perfection. He could bend it any way he wanted to. She saw him, and willingly came into his arms. Jareth watched them dance in the papery illusion floating before him. He set the crystal flying, and watched as in his illusion, he traced the line of Sarah's jaw, and kissed her. It was a few short seconds between her leaning her face towards him to respond and the bubble bursting.

Jareth sighed noisily. He produced another crystal and sent it flying once more, recreating the whole illusion from the start. Always, at the kiss, the bubble burst. It was if the magic couldn't hold the illusion together for him, knowing the strength of his feelings. Magic ballrooms – nonsense! What was he doing? He looked around him at the disheveled throne room. Was this what he had to offer Sarah? He'd offered her her dreams once. Was this her dream? A filthy throne room covered in goblin nail clippings and chicken shit? Sarah was not like other women, he knew that. Material things didn't seem to matter to her. She'd seen this throne room when she'd been looking for her brother, but did she remember any of it? What if, when confronted with what she thought she wanted - what Jareth hoped she wanted - she changed her mind?

He wanted to see her, but he knew he had to wait. Maralis' presence in his wood was a sign. It meant he was being watched, and he didn't need to guess by who. Covering his tracks was easy in the Underground, but crossing between worlds left energy trails which anyone could follow if they had access to the right sort of black magic. And Cenric's witches were known to be able to produce some of the most dangerous and potent black magic of all. Just extremes in climate were known to counteract these trails to some degree - desert landscapes, snowy tundras, that sort of thing.

Jareth felt his mind grow dark. If Cenric ever realised his feelings and got his hands on Sarah, he could easily guess what he'd do to her purely to torment Jareth, and he knew that Cenric would make sure that Jareth was forced to bear witness to everything he would do to her, that's if he didn't kill him outright just to hurt Sarah. And then she'd be alone, without anyone to protect her. All because she dared to love him.

If only there was some way, but Jareth knew it was as good as impossible. He produced another crystal only to throw it across the ballroom and watch it shatter against the wall. Jareth sat back in his throne, brooding. He mindlessly twisted his medallion's chain around one finger. An arrow shot by a fire sprite. That was the only known method to kill Cenric, as ensured by his witches. Everyone in the Underground was dispensable in some way or the other. For Cenric, it was this, and it was deliberate because it was well known that fire sprites had been persecuted to extinction purely because they were so dangerous as assassins. As deadly as their arrows were, they were in themselves quite gentle, and this had been their downfall. They had been slain in their temples, their water poisoned and toxic fumes released into their villages as they slept.

That, combined with the fact that they made their arrows from a special mix of metals known only to them, a mix which had died along with them, meant that Cenric was more or less untouchable unless a hidden tribe of fire sprites turned up in another realm - some rumours spoke even of a handful having bribed their way Aboveground. But what were the chances of that, he wondered.

That's also something the Oracle was working on locating. The Oracle. And how long would her message take this time? Meanwhile Sarah's life continued Aboveground. She was walking those streets, brushing against those mortals, pressing glasses of wine to those irresistable lips of hers, not knowing the effect she had when she turned her head, startled out of her daydreams by a sound, and sent her brown hair flying to a side. She was there, blood coursing through her veins, and he was stuck down here, waiting for a wrinkled old hag's shells to lie in the correct order so he could once again take all that salvation into his arms.

It was infuriating. Jareth gritted his teeth, produced another crystal and sent that one crashing against the wall too. As if on cue, Tribble entered the throne room.

"Ah, good morning Tribble." said Jareth, ignoring his own little outburst.

Tribble elegantly stepped over the broken orbs on the throne room floor. He bowed. "You mean good night, sire. I saw you were still awake, and I sent for an infusion to help you get some rest. It's council day tomorrow."

Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Council day. What a bore. He nodded at the goblin scuttling in behind Tribal carrying a tray with a cup and a steaming teapot. "Thank you." he said.

The goblin set the tray down next to Jareth, bowed enthusiastically "Ain't nothing, Kingy!" and scuttled back out again.

Jareth's eyes followed her as she ran out of the throne room and closed the door behind her, sending a cloud of dust shaking out its frame. He said nothing for a while, but sat, staring at the closed door as he brooded. Tribble waited for him to speak, and at last he did. "Tribble," said Jareth, running a gloved hand under his chin "those legends about the fire sprites. Do you think they're true?"

Tribble walked over to Jareth's throne and carefully picked up the tray of tea. "Come sire, let's go to the study." he said.

Jareth sighed heavily, swung his leg over from the armrest of the throne onto the floor with a loud thud and got up to follow his most trusted advisor. The study was more appropriate for such a conversation. He walked next to Tribble in silence as he updated him on various events of the day, passing through dark corridors lit only by flickering torches, until they reached Jareth's study. Tribble opened the door with his free hand and stepped aside for Jareth to enter.

Jareth nodded. "Yes, yes my friend, it's a much better idea to talk about this here. At least there aren't those damn chickens to distract me all the time." His study was far from tidy - his desk was piled high with papers which spilled from the shelves too and sat stacked in the corners. But it was a much more peaceful setting with its worn marble columns, muted colours and quietly crackling fireplace. No wonder, Tribble was the only other person ever allowed in here apart from himself. His eyes fell on the half-written letter to Sarah, and he looked away.

Tribble set down the tea on Jareth's desk and went to stoke the fire while Jareth sat down and just looked at the letter. "You are my…" that's where he'd been forced to stop to attend to his business. You are my what? What was he about to say there? My joy? My plaything? He couldn't remember. He sat back in his chair and removed his leather gloves, crumpled the letter and tossed it into the fireplace. "So what we were talking about."

"FIre sprites, if I remember correctly." said Tribble. He pushed the logs further toward the back of the fire and watched the flames leap against them. He stood up neatly, and walked over to Jareth's book case. He pulled out an old, heavy volume and began to leaf through it. "Let's see now, fae, fairies, fancies, fire, fire sprites." Tribble made a grand scene of noisily flicking to the right page, knowing that he wasn't about to tell his king anything he didn't already know.

He mumbled to himself as he scanned the words and then began to read aloud. "Fire sprites, a branch of the fae are known as some of the best warriors in the Underground. Adept archers and hunters, they make excellent assassin, but are prone to weather changes and struggle to adapt to new surroundings. Able to exist in other realms as long as their favored diet is readily available. No known examples recorded Aboveground or in the human world in general due to their above cited inability to adapt to energy and climatic changes and lack of knowledge when it comes to accessing portals and their superstition of witches which strongly prevents them seeking such information."

He closed the book with a thud. "This was of course written before the matters as we know had played out their course." he said.

Jareth tutted in annoyance, poured himself some of the tea and downed it in a gulp. "Toss it into the fire, it's out of date anyway." he said. Tribble fingered the books beautiful deep green and gold binding - such a shame - but threw it into the flame nonetheless. They both watched as the sparks danced around the new intruder, then began to consume the book's edges.

Silence again. Jareth straightened his body up and placed both elbows on his desk. He pressed his eyes into the heel of his palms. A sudden tiredness began to wash over him. Sarah would be waiting for a letter from him, some word, something. And he couldn't think.

Tribble didn't need to ask what was on his mind. "Sire, the messenger is ready when you are to take your messages to the young lady…"

"And what exactly do you suggest I say to her, Tribble?" snapped Jareth. "It's already been 10 days and I haven't managed to finish one letter. Without word from the Oracle, what am I supposed to say to keep her interest vested?" He crossed his arms over his chest and sat back, swinging his boots onto the desk and scattering a few papers. "You know how bloody headstrong that girl is. And I'm not the sort for perfume-scented sweet nothings." he grumbled.

Tribble smiled inwardly. He forgot sometimes that despite his vast experience with women, the king currently found himself in new territory. He straightened Jareth's writing paper and dipped his pen into the ink. "Sire, it's not as complex as you might feel. You need only to say what is in your heart. Sarah has not dared to drop her mask for anyone but you. Her boldness should be acknowledged as such."

Jareth cocked an eyebrow at his friend. Dropped her mask, eh? He thought that was his territory.

Tribble decided to change course. "Well, let's think about things in a practical sense. We are waiting for the Oracle, but we know in advance that once word comes, events will follow a certain pattern. For example, to reach the Oracle, you may only use two or four legs. But not a vehicle. Does Sarah know how to ride a horse?"

Jareth looked at his clasped hands thoughtfully. "Not that I know of, no."

Tribble nodded, sensing he was on the right track. "So then explain this instruction to her. We don't know where the meeting point will be, or if she will need to make her way to you on her own. At the very least, she needs to know how to be a passenger on a horse ridden by you. It's a very simple practical matter, but one you should address with her. Notify her also that she needs to have dispelled her fears and nervous energy before attending a meeting with the Oracle, so she needs to identify what she is afraid of, and how to expend her nervous energy."

Jareth smiled slyly to himself. Sarah was so highly strung on nervous energy, he had a few enjoyable suggestions to help Sarah burn it off, and in more than one session. Tribble harumphed. "Don't frighten the lady sire, she needs to trust you to make the journey. You know the Oracle will refuse to see either of you if he senses any sort of discord. She cannot stand negative energy. Be gentle with her."

"Oh I don't need to be gentle, Sarah is a tough little thing. And she knows I'm no gentleman." said Jareth, grinning at Tribble.

"I do wonder if this poor girl knows the viper's nest she's involving herself with." said Tribble, faking annoyance.

"She has a pretty good idea. She hasn't yet met the viper in the nest, but she will."

Tribble rolled his eyes. "Sire. I suggest you get some sleep. And don't forget, the exact same rules apply to you too. You need to confront your fear as well, not just Sarah."

Jareth's smile faded. Indeed. Silence sank between the two of them, and the sound of the fireplace suddenly seemed incredibly loud. "I should say, sire, that you should write the letter sooner rather than later. It might not be too long before we hear something." said Tribble. He watched Jareth nod slowly, thoughtfully, and wondered what he was thinking. Tribble turned to leave the room, and as he turned to shut the door, he watched as Jareth gently slid the paper closer to himself and picked up his pen, pausing over the paper and frowning. Tribble smiled, his eyes twinkling. A cad indeed! He'd never seen his king so hesitant and wrong-footed over anything. If Sarah could have this effect on him, she must really be something.

Jareth looked at the paper. What was he supposed to say now? Write a list of instructions? He sighed heavily. Well, the only way to know what he would end up saying was to start. A week with no news was much too long. _Leave yourself behind, Jareth, and protect her from your sharp edges._

"My beloved Sarah,

I must apologise for leaving it so long to be in touch with you. I had urgent business to attend to, but now I have found a precious window of time in which to send you this letter. It's well into the night here, and I find myself thinking of you and the light in your eyes, the breathless look on your face, the last time I saw you which seems so painfully long ago now."

That was a good start as any, thought Jareth, suddenly feeling the words flow faster than he could write them. Outside his window, a moon was strung lazily over the Underground horizon.

JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJS

When the first days had passed, Sarah began to wonder if she'd just imagined it all. It had been such a strange few months ever since the Goblin King has strode confidently back into her life, and it had left her with a dizzying feeling like she didn't know which way was up or which was down. Everything was confused.

And now Rosa had started looking funny whenever she started talking about him, like if it made her uncomfortable and she tried to steer the topic away from Jareth four out of the five times Sarah brought him up.

It was confusing. But then, so little made sense any more. Her memories immediately afterwards had kept her suspended in a state of bliss for the first few days. The things they'd said, the thing they had talked about, her sense that the Oracle was inching ever closer to her.

And then the other things… the most impromptu things brought back the memories of the fire that had raged between them when she least expected it, leaving her flushed and painfully aroused at the most ridiculous moments. And there it was, that power he held over her all over again. Not just memories or figments of her imagination, real, agonising attraction. What was she going to do?

One evening, riding the night tube back to her apartment, she'd been staring into nothing when the drunk girl standing with her friends next to her began to laugh loudly. Distracted, Sarah had glanced over and noticed the glitter on the girl's cheeks.

The glitter, the rocking motion of the tube carriage, and in a flash she was right back to where she had been, right back where Jareth had wanted her, prone, shamelessly exposed and letting him drive her to the edge of ecstasy. Her recollections were so obscenely vivid she wondered if Jareth had cast some magic over her- she wondered if he was watching her right then, delighting in her obvious discomfort and desperation for the relief his touch would bring. She turned so red she was sure everyone could tell, and elbowed her way out at the next stop, even though it was two stops before she needed to get off.

_Get a grip! Sarah!_

It didn't help that her commute regularly took her past the place where she'd first set eyes on him again, after all those years. The first few times, she looked down and walked right past Gilgamesh. But then, she began to slow. Finally, she began to stop, letting herself hover outside the door for a few seconds, sometimes up to a minute, just staring at the place and piecing that first meeting back together in her mind's eye while irritated tourists shoved past her.

But then a week had passed, and still no word had come from Jareth. Ten days later, Sarah found herself walking dumbly out of bellydance class again. Summer didn't last long in London, not like in Connecticut, and it was threatening to turn to autumn having barely managed to get out of the starting blocks. With these grey skies she often forgot where she was in the year. What month was it? June? Or July? So that made it six months since they had met again.

Was that all? Six months? It felt so much longer. And now where was he? Fae folk were known to love games. Maybe it had all just been a game after all…The 10 days had felt like forever to her. Every day she'd woken up and checked the front door of her tiny flat - perhaps there was a letter? Something? She scanned the sky for owls, but found none. "You're a fool, Sarah Williams." she muttered to herself, slinging her dance bag over her shoulder as she walked to the tube station.

She was so lost in her pointless thoughts and in the nagging feeling that she had just been another one of the Goblin King's games that she didn't even see the messenger as she walked right past her.

"M'lady!"

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks and turned on her heels. She could barely make out the short figure of the messenger hiding in the shadows of the alley. She might have missed her altogether if it wasn't for the pale white envelope glowing out of the darkness against her black robes.

Sarah quickly looked around herself to see that no one was paying attention and ducked into the alleyway.

"It's you!" she said, beaming an enormous smile. The messenger nodded, grinning back. "We've missed you m'lady!" she said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Missed me? But I've not been anywhere."

"Oh you don't need to be coming to the Underground for us to sense it m'lady, we knows it when his majesty Jareth is withs you. We can all feels it because he's happy. And he's ain't been happy, m'lady. So we are all lately missing you."

Sarah didn't know what to say, but she felt surprisingly touched. The messenger held out the thick envelope in one hand. "His highness apologises for this taking so long, but he's not been having too much times to lately."

The envelope crackled gently as Sarah took it, and she felt like she would cry. Oh Jareth. The letter, a letter from him. She felt ready to burst into tears when she saw her name laced across the front in what she knew now was Jareth's neat, elegant writing. She wanted to kiss the ink.

"Thank you." said Sarah, holding the envelope close to her heart.

"You're mostly welcome!" said the messenger, starting to turn to leave.

"Hey, wait a second." said Sarah. "This is a little silly, I just realised I don't know your name."

The messenger looked a little confused, then her face lit up in recognition. "Oh! Yes, yes! My name! I do have one, and it's a very good name! My name is Noble Steed!"

Sarah tried her best not to look completely confused. "Noble Steed?"

Noble Steed nodded. "Me first name anyway. All my name is Noble Steed Fincklesbottom. It's a good name, don't you think? My parents gave me it. Noble Steed."

Sarah scratched her chin, her curiosity rising again. "Your parents named you Noble Steed…" Allright. Well, why not? It was one of those Labyrinth things she'd have to ask Jareth about another time.

"It is a very good name, Noble Steed. Please thank Jareth for this letter." said Sarah. A thought came to her, even though she had no idea what was in the letter. "Could you meet me here in one week to take a letter _to_ Jareth?"

Noble Steed nodded enthusiastically. "Of course m'lady! But you must make sure you write it with real ink and seal it with proper wax. It won't be no good to read on the other end otherwise."

"Sure!" said Sarah, making a mental note to go looking for old fashioned writing supplies in the morning. She traced the curled letter J stamped onto the seal of her letter, knowing that this letter was meant only for her, and that there wasn't a single other person who would be able to break this seal. Her eyes fell on the steel ring curled around her ring finger on her right hand. It was one of those gothic type rings which were easy to find in the shops in Camden, and showed a dragon curved around a piece of purple glass. "Oh!" she said, sliding it off. "One more thing. Could I give you this?"

Noble Steed's eyes widened. "For me? But why m'lady!" she said, gasping as she took the cheap piece of jewellery. Real Aboveground steel! Wait until her friends saw this!

"You've come a long way to bring me a letter I waited for for many days, and I wanted to thank you for that." said Sarah, quietly patting herself on the back for remembering how much fae loved trinkets.

"Well, bye m'lady!" said Noble Steed, and when Sarah looked up from the letter, she was alone in the alleyway again. She kissed the letter, deciding to save it for reading at home, and ran the rest of the way to the tube station. As she came out the other end, she was so happy she almost didn't hear the crack addict as he shouted after her "It's queeny! Hello queeny, so happy queeny, queeny must be in love!"

_Yes! _Thought Sarah. _Yes, I am!_ A thin moon lay low over the glittering lights of London.


	17. Chapter 17: Jareth's letter

AN: I didn't plan on giving you guys the letter, but you asked for it, so I wrote it!

Sarah slammed the door to her flat shut and sank to the floor, holding the letter. She'd not let it out of her sight on the entire ride home. She gently lifted the seal with a nail, and it came away easily. Several sheets of heavy parchment unfolded in her hands, and Sarah suddenly found she was scared of what they contained. Ten days had passed. That must have given Jareth plenty of time to think of what to say. Or to find the best explanation for explaining why this relationship couldn't continue…

She unfolded the first page, so she could see only the first line.

My beloved Sarah,

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her heart pound. Dutch courage. She gently placed the rest of the letter on the floor and got up to pour herself some wine into one of her mismatched glasses. She took a few quick gulps and sat back down by the door, ignoring the draft coming in from under the door.

My beloved Sarah,

I must apologise for leaving it so long to be in touch with you. I had urgent business to attend to, but now I have found a precious window of time in which to send you this letter. It's well into the night here, and I find myself thinking of you and the light in your eyes, the breathless look on your face, the last time I saw you which seems so painfully long ago now.

I have been thinking of many days of what to say to you in this letter. Your first question is most likely to be about the Oracle, and on that front unfortunately there is still no news. However, I think it would be wise to prepare you for the journey that will eventually come, should you still be willing to make it.

The Oracles we deal with reside Aboveground, and when the time and the place comes for us to go there, we must each make our way of our own accord to the halfway house. This means, my precious, that I will not be able to magic you there. You will have to pay your own way, and since Oracles reside in desolate areas away from prying eyes, usually in an extreme climate to reduce energy trails, I advise you to make the necessary economic arrangements to reach that point, wherever it may be.

As I said, we will head to the Oracle together, but we must head to the halfway house separately. Don't worry, my instructions to you when the news comes will contain where the halfway house is, and there will be connections of mine along the way to help you get there. They cannot take you all the way, but they can each act as a stepping stone.

To get to the halfway house and the Oracle requires the use of two legs or four. This means either walking or riding a horse. For the journey from the house, we will ride together, which means I will have you as my passenger. But for the journey up to the house, you will be alone. For this, I strongly recommend that you learn how to ride a horse, if you don't know how to do so already. Dress as you please, but wear only natural fibres, travel light, with only enough belongings to easily carry on your back. I will provide everything you need once we leave the halfway house.

The halfway house can be described what humans might call a hostel. They are usually large buildings with several hundred rooms containing pilgrims from the other realms, and there is always a large bathhouse on the bottom floor. You must use this bathhouse on the first night you get there, in order to prime yourself for the rest of the journey. The water contains a special mix of minerals which are good for lightening the soul.

When you enter the house, don't be surprised if no one talks to you. At the halfway house, everyone pretends to ignore each other. Eye contact and minor verbal contact is acceptable, but anything beyond that is not, even a handshake.

What this means, my precious, is that you are going to have to act as if you don't know me at all, and likewise I will have to do the same, though let me tell you, I am already in agony thinking about how I will have you so close but not be able to lay a finger on you. I plan to make up for that in due time.

I should elaborate here - to my knowledge no mortal has ever been taken to see an Oracle, and they have certainly never used a halfway house. You won't come to any harm if it's found out that you are from a mortal realm, but you will be immediately turned out, and if this happens before you make use of the bathhouse, you will not be able to see the Oracle.

But you, my love, are a very clever girl. All you have to do to avoid detection is follow my instructions: do not show signs that you know me when we are in the halfway house, and eat and drink whatever they provide without flinching or without indicating that you don't know what it is. The food is nothing special, and it is certainly edible, so don't worry about this too much.

One more thing - you may have noticed in your limited experience with me that I have no body hair. This is true for all fae, and since you will be required to be naked in the bathhouse, it is imperative that you make arrangements to remove every single hair on your body."

This was the first point where Sarah frowned. Everything else sounded about doable to her. But a full body wax? Yikes! That did not sound like fun at all. Was this really necessary? There must be some loophole. She continued to read.

"I can only imagine your face right now, surprised, a little angry and your eyes glinting with defiance. Trust me, my precious thing, when I tell you that to me it makes no difference whatsoever. It is merely my advice to you to ensure you are not caught out at the time of the bath which you must take. Don't worry, the bathhouse is divided by all five genders, so only other females will see you."

Five genders? There were more than two in the Underground? Sarah shrugged.

"These are you instructions to you. Once we leave the halfway house, you will find it quite amusing because as soon as everyone leaves the front threshold, they all begin talking to each other once more. After you cross the threshold, you are free to interact with me in any way you please. From there we will head to the accommodation I will have pre-arranged for us, and the following day, we will head to the Oracle where I hope we will both get the answers we are searching for.

There is one last thing. Before you see the Oracle, you must make sure that you have dispelled all your nervous energy and faced your fears. The Oracle hates negative energy, so try your best to avoid defying or confronting me. You must place your trust in the instructions I give you.

Now that we have business matters out of the way, did you really think I would spend all this time writing a letter to you that ignored the obvious? Talking about what you have to do to your body in preparation has got me thinking about you. My hand is aching from writing, but that's nothing compared to the ache I feel when I think of you.

Oh how exquisite you are, Sarah, and you don't even know it. Much to my delight, Aboveground men are imbeciles and allow you to walk around without laying flowers down in in your path. You move me in strange ways, Sarah.

I want you. I want to take you, in every way I can. I long for you, and the fact that we exist in other realms is most inconvenient at moments like this. Did you know that at the moment of your release, your eyes almost appear to change colour? That you tear at everything around you in your throes of passion, except me? That, I hope, will change. I carry many scars on my body, all of them from miserable events, and I would relish carrying the marks of your passion as a badge of honour on me.

I long for that day. I want to run my hands all over your, every part of you. I want to hear that catch in your breath again, the one you don't even know you do, as I run my tongue over your nipple. I want to watch you writhe as I feel it harden under my tongue. You try to fight me, but your body knows me. It responds to my every touch. In your dreams, you respond to me fully.

Oh how I long for that union, Sarah, and I know you imagine it to. I have spared you so far, but I don't know how much more I can hold out. I imagine that moment, the delicious sensation of entering you, feeling your body open to me, moving inside you. I want it, badly. I want to take every inch of you, to look into your eyes as you realise the shock of this new sensation, so unlike anything you've ever known, to watch them turn drunk as pleasure floods your body. I imagine every, slow, deliberate, agonising movement I will make, to bring you to pleasure again and again and again, as many times as your mortal body can handle it.

The truth is I don't know how to hold back from you. Your scent is like a drug, and if my carnal desire for you is upsetting, than I am not sorry. I am not sorry that I crave giving you pleasure. I am not sorry that right now I am in agony thinking about every part of you which I could, touch, lick or do other things to. And if our last encounter is anything for me to go by, I'm guessing that you too are fighting the urges these words have created in your body. I imagine you are divinely ready right now, uncomfortable by the need for my touch. And you are probably angry at me for putting you in this state.

Well, my precious, don't be too angry with me. I only express the things I want to do to you. You know that. All you have to do is cross that final barrier and allow me to do all the things I want to do to you. No, not allow. I don't want you to allow me. I want you to respond to me, and I want you to beg me to do these things to you. Oh, how glorious that day will be, the day you finally drop your last mask and admit what you truly are, and what you truly want.

I don't know when I will see you again, how long it will take, and this drives me half mad with desire. If it were in my power, I would come to you immediately, right now, and I'm sure I'd find you so aroused you would not even put up a pretence of resisting. Alas, it cannot be so, at least not yet. We must wait a little while more. This will give you time to prepare both for the trip and for me. Because Sarah, the next time I see you, I know I will not be able to stop at the points I did when we were last together. I love the way you respond to me. I love how you pretend to resist and fight me. I want all of those things while I'm buried inside you as far as you can take, looking down on you while you cry out my name, watching the your hair stick to the sweat that appear on your brow, I want to see how your eyes change colour, the surprise in them as I keep going to take you there again and again.

Most of all Sarah, and this is quite hard for me to admit to, I want to be with you. It was rather nice having you around, and like I said, I could probably get used to it.

My precious, don't hate me for the things I have said. It's not my fault you are so irresistible. Keep your mind high and your energy up. Prepare for the journey we will make together. I want to make it unforgettable for you in every single way.

Noble Steed, my messenger, is currently the safest and surest way for us to communicate. Should you wish to send a letter with her, I have enclosed a few blank pages of parchment in this letter for you to reply on. Make sure you use real ink and a real seal. Should you be unable to find a seal, I have cast a small spell on these sheets, and a kiss from your lips will be enough to seal them."

Sarah giggled. You old softie, Jareth.

"Don't laugh now at what a hopeless romantic I am. I did this for your convenience. I would much rather those lips were on mine than on a sheet of lifeless paper.

Business in my kingdom is likely to keep me busy for the next few days, but if you do send a message, I will make receiving it my top priority.

Be patient, my beloved. Believe me when I say I am moving things with the Oracle as quickly as I can, and it is of great annoyance to me too that it is taking so long. Until then, sustain yourself with your dreams, which I will send to you at regular intervals.

You really are something else, Sarah. No woman, mortal or otherwise, has had the hold over me which you do. How brave you are, how fearless, to become tangled with a creature like me. You probably think yourself foolish, but you must not. You have conquered more ground with me than anyone ever has. In fact, it is I who should be fearful of you. Be well, my little dragon, until we meet again.

Yours truly

Jareth"

Sarah blinked at Jareth's elaborate signature. Her breathing was so shallow and her face so hot she felt she might faint. Oh my god, Jareth…. What a mess she was in. She wanted to call Rosa, but felt she probably shouldn't. She closed her eyes and brought her fingers to her lips, imagining Jareth's kiss. This was amazing. This was so terrifying. Why was she marching head on towards him when she should be running the other way?

_Don't think to much_, she commanded herself, _empty your head. Keep only this moment, this letter. Just feel it, and deal with the rest when the sun rises_. Sarah sank even lower in the door frame and closed her eyes, her heart pounding and her breath racing, feeling no inhibitions and no shame at the state she was in and what she wanted to do as she unbuttoned her jeans and pretended her hands belonged to Jareth.


	18. Chapter 18: The edge of tomorrow

AN: Hello all, trying to move things along a little faster now and take you wonderful readers to the doorstep of the adventure, since it might be a while before the next chapter. Some of your commented on including the bath house - I actually dreamt it and woke up thinking "That would be perfect for my fanfic!" It was never in my original plan, but I decided to slip it in for that reason. Enjoy!

The bell above the door to traditional stationary shop tinkled merrily as Sarah pushed through and shook the raindrops off her umbrella. She hadn't yet looked up when she heard Mr White call out to her, "Ah, hello Sarah dear, out of paper already?"

Sarah smiled and waved a gloved hand from the doorway, already feeling herself blush a little. "Yup! Back for the usual, Mr White."

The old man chuckled and shuffled over to the shelf to get down a pot of black ink in a glass jar. Most of the jars were plastic these days, but he had a small supply of the glass ones still left, and Sarah was a customer who insisted on doing things the traditional way. It was a delight for an old calligrapher like him to find such a young lady coming to his shop regularly. Mostly, it was only professional wedding invitation writers and hobbyists who came here these days, but Sarah, he had discovered, used his material for actual letters. And just when he was starting to think romance was dead.

Almost three months ago now, an unsure young lady had walked into his shop, blinking in total confusion at his array of products. The younger ones never knew what any of it was, and Mr White was happy to guide through the different types of feather quills, the various inks, the papers and how each type responded to the ink and how to apply a wax seal. Most customers were enthusiastic about what they planned to do with the paper, but Sarah had been reluctant to disclose anything then, not saying a word as he put together a basic packet for her - a dozen sheets of bleach-free paper, a wax seal with the letter S, dark red paper wax, a quill and a bottle of black ink in a glass bottle - which she had quietly paid for and left.

So he'd been surprised when the next day the first customer to his shop was this mysterious young lady again, frowning this time as she wordlessly removed one of the expensive sheets of paper and set it down on his desk in a waft of perfume. Mr White had peered down at the black, blobby, smudged and completely illegible writing and understood. "Hm! The perfume goes on before you write anything at all, my dear." he had said. Sarah placed her hands on the counter as if to steady herself and nodded at her mistake, suddenly feeling all over again that she had no idea what she was doing. Even a simple letter seemed such a complicated task when it came to Jareth. _Sarah, you dummy! Why did you have to get all fancy, argh! _She thought back to the first letter she'd sent, which had immediately come back. "Bleach" Noble Steed had said with a shrug, except she'd pronounced it bleeyach. "It won't go through."

Mr White had three daughters of his own, so he was quick to act when he saw the film of tears start to form in Sarah's eyes. This paper was expensive, and the young lady looked nothing like his rich regulars who could afford to waste sheet after sheet. "No bother, I probably should have told you that when you came in. I'm a nosey old sort you know, but I didn't think it was my business to pry. If I had known that my paper was going to be used for something so lovely, well… here, take a few sheets on me and tell me how it goes next time." he'd said, slipping some papers into Sarah's hands. She'd sniffed a grateful "Thank you" and left.

Oh, the perils of young love. And so, as the days had passed, a sort of friendship had formed between them. As Sarah opened up to him, Mr White delighted in helping her add special little flairs to her letters, letting her test out different quills in the shop to sign each one off in a different way, and in return she had told him at least part of her story. It had made Sarah happy to run into this old-fashioned man who found it completely delightful that people still wrote love letters with pen and paper. It was sort of sweet. Endearing, really.

While he was reaching for the ink, Sarah walked past the beautiful collection of pens and quills in the dimly lit shop to the shelf where the sheets of hand-cut writing paper and paper wax were kept. She quickly counted out 12 sheets, picked two crimson bars from the adjacent step and went to the counter to pay.

"How is your lucky man on the receiving end of these letter?" asked Mr White as he began to price up her order on a piece of paper. Sarah smiled and felt herself blush properly now. "He's well. I got another letter from him last night." she said, shyly flashing him an edge of the letter from her satchel.

Mr White smiled. Nothing like romance to brighten up a rainy day like today, especially when such effort went into it. "Oh good, good, so that's why you're back here again. Did you ever find out where he gets that marvelous paper from?" he asked. _Whoops!_ "Oh, er, I think he gets it sent to him from Italy or something." she said, trying her best to quickly come up with an acceptable answer. Mr White was so sweet to her she almost wished she could tell him everything. "Hmph," said Mr White, "It doesn't look like the Italian stuff I stock. Next time you write to him, ask him for his supplier's name. That quality would sell like hot cakes in here."

Sarah brushed a strand of her long brown hair away from her eyelashes. "I'll do that, Mr White." she said, smiling. Mr White counted the sheets of paper, and add an extra two free of charge as he'd got into the habit of doing. He wrapped Sarah's supplies in brown paper, tied string around it and then put it into a plastic bag, "for the rain" he explained, gesturing outside at the darkening London streets outside the shop window.

Sarah tucked the precious paper into her bag, picked up her umbrella and walked to the door, turning as its bell tinkled to wave at a goodbye to Mr White before ducking out into the rain. She walked briskly against the cold, wet weather, trying to make her way as quickly as she could to the Underground. Inside her bag, Jareth's letter seemed to beat against her heart with every jolt of the train.

Nearly three months had passed, and they hadn't seen each other. In the beginning, it had been excruciating, especially thanks to the smouldering dreams Jareth was in the habit of sending her every few nights. But as the days had turned to weeks and the weeks to months, she had settled into the rhythm of their separation, consoling herself that it wouldn't go on forever. To be honest, it gave her a little breathing space to digest the enormity of everything that had happened.

Sarah walked along, thinking about how Jareth's hold over her remained as strong as ever. It was relentless. _He_ was relentless. She knew what he was doing with these dreams of his, and it felt like more than she could handle. Finally, after the first month, she had written to Jareth asking him to ease off on the content of his dreams and letters:

"I know what you're trying to do. You're tormenting me with my desire. And anyway, if you build it up so much in my dreams, how do I know the reality will live up to it?" she'd playfully teased.

She knew that Jareth must have read the letter that very same night, because his response was to send her the most explicit dream yet. In the letter he'd sent a few days later he had made himself clear: "Sarah you cannot tell me to desire you less. It won't work. All I'm doing is planting the seeds of what I plan to reap once I finally have you to myself again."

Sarah felt her cheeks colour again at the thought. She sighed deeply, trying to regain her composure as the tube carriage began to fill with other people making their way home. Her wet socks squelched a little inside her boots - damn cheap shoes. All her spare money these days was going to writing papers or into a savings account for the ticket to somewhere she might need to buy at short notice.

A ticket to anywhere.

The day after Noble Steed came back with her rejected letter, she had found the closest traditional stationery shop to her office and gone there. Mr White's stuff was expensive, but it was the best, and Sarah wanted to indulge. If it didn't work out with Jareth, she knew there was no chance she'd ever be exchanging written love letters like this with anyone again. Her generation just wasn't like that. There was something to be said for carrying around the heavy parchment containing his thoughts and emotions to read in his swirling writing. Sometimes she would race home with a new letter and sniff it as deeply as she could, hoping to catch his scent. But it was never there.

Back inside the sanctuary of her tiny apartment, Sarah placed her new letter on her little kitchen table - it would join the others in the shoebox under her bed once she'd memorised every word. Sarah sighed and went to sit in front of the world map she'd stuck on the wall, the one which she had traced lines fanning out from London to every far-flung destination she could think of, with air ticket prices scribbled under each connecting line. The first time Rosa had seen it, she'd rolled her eyes, "I don't think I've ever seen a romance this organised before," she'd said. "You're a lost cause, my girl."

Rosa was trying to be nice. After acting a little weird, she had sort of come back around, but she also couldn't help but play devil's advocate. She'd been asking the sort of questions any good friend would - who was he, where did he live, what did he do, had she met any of his friends, that sort of stuff. And the more vague her answers were, the more worried and annoyed Rosa got. It was fair enough, thought Sarah. She'd probably have done the same. Not to mention that she'd not gone to a single audition in three months now. "Be careful," Rosa had said one evening "Don't lose yourself while trying to find this man."

_She's my best friend and I can't tell her_, thought Sarah sadly. She was in the midst of an intoxicating romance, the stuff of novels and fantasy films. It was the sort of thing a young woman was supposed to share in lavish detail with her best friend. But Sarah couldn't say a word about the truth to Rosa. There was no way she'd understand, and worse, she'd think Sarah had lost her mind.

Sitting in front of the map now, Sarah felt herself start to feel crestfallen. Nearly three months. And their next meeting could be anywhere. The clock on the wall struck seven. Sarah had left work at 5.30. The heavy rain beat against her window panes as she got up to stare outside for a few moments. Her boring job, the paper shop, the letters, Rosa, Toby and her stepmother so far away in Connecticut… Sarah suddenly felt incredibly alone.

She got up and ran her fingers through her hair, wishing right then that she had a nice hot bath to soak in. But no such luck.

_Just my mouldy old shower, _she thought. A hot shower would help clear her head, and might even help her sore butt. She'd started horseriding lessons here and there - luckily she wasn't a total beginner so there wasn't that much new stuff to learn. But the horse had thrown her a week ago, and the vivid bruise on her backside was taking its own sweet time to fade.

Sarah undressed, taking a little time to look at her body. Jareth's desire for her had made her look at herself in a new light. She'd never considered her body like that before, but now she stopped to look at her thighs, the curve of her calves, even her toenails. They all seemed new now, different somehow when she looked at them through the frame of Jareth's relevance. Sarah stood like that for a while as the hot water ran, flicking a sock out of the way of the splashing water with her toes. She hadn't yet got that full wax she was supposed to be getting. Now that was something she was dreading.

The bath house and all the rest sounded exciting, but the no hair thing? At first she'd wondered if it was a polite way for Jareth to tell her to get her bikini line in check, but she'd quickly ruled that out. Jareth did not mince his words - if that's what he had wanted, that's what he would have told her. And digging around in old books she'd found in libraries, she'd realised that the thing about Fae not having any body hair was indeed true. And after all this, she definitely didn't want to be kicked out of her quest at the last hurdle.

Sarah stepped under the hot darts of the water and let them slide all over her. She clasped her hands together and lifted them to rest on the wall under the shower, leaning into the spray of the water. Jareth's letters were a little puzzling to her at first. They tended to be to the point, almost businesslike, descriptions of his day or annoying business matters, laced with his erotic fantasies of her and of them together. Neither of them had yet come clean. Neither had dared to written down that they loved each other.

_So what did it mean, is this just a fairy-fantasy booty call via the medium of letters? Argh! This is so messing with my head!_

She thought of the night and groaned. It had been a few nights since Jareth sent her a dream. When he went more than three days, the dream that followed was usually wild. They were fun, sure, but she was starting to get incredibly, outrageously frustrated, and she knew that this was all part of Jareth's plan. She stayed like that for a moment, watching the steaming water swirl down the plug hole.

_It'll be soon. It has to be soon. Right? Where are you Jareth? What are you doing? How long is this stupid Oracle going to take?_

JSJSJSJSJSJSJS

It had been another long day at court, but Jareth wasn't resting. He couldn't, not now. Despite his separation from Sarah, which had gone on much longer than he thought was acceptable, it was a good day. A good day indeed. An excellent day in fact.

Now, late into the night, he sat in his study, his boots on the desk again in the manner which so annoyed Tribble, and impatiently tapped the end of his swagger stick against the floor. He was waiting, and not for Sarah's letter. Oh Sarah, if only she knew. If only he could get a message to her right this instant.

Tribble looked up from his papers, "Sire, that infernal noise is not going to make things move any faster." he harumphed.

Jareth wasn't really listening. He leapt to his feet, tossing the stick to a side and sending it clattering to the floor. "Does it distract you, Tribble? Then join the club. Neither of us is going to get any sleep tonight." said Jareth, sauntering over to his window and standing by it, arms crossed across the medallion on his chest. The high collar of his black jacket sagged slightly after being worn for a whole day, but Jareth didn't care about what he looked like right now. He tapped his lower lip with a gloved hand and turned back around.

Tribble rolled his eyes - Jareth was acting like a lovesick teenager with a hornet stuck up his backside - the whole issue of being separated with Sarah was enough, but tonight's developments had made him especially highly strung. He was getting dizzy just watching him pace the room, sit down, get back up again and repeat from the start.

"Oh come come now Tribble. You should be happy, your ordeal of dealing with my moody tantrums is nearing its end if tonight's developments are anything to go by." said Jareth as he conjured a crystal which morphed into a bottle of wine.

"I doubt my ordeal of dealing with your tantrums will ever be over, sire. Celebrating, are we?" he asked, feigning glumness.

"Absolutely!" said Jareth. He poured himself a large glass of the ruby-red wine and downed it in a gulp. Tribble eyed him without lifting his head. His king was feigning nonchalance, but he'd never seen him this jittery. Poor king, he thought, adding his signature to another piece of paper - Jareth was preparing for Tribble to oversee matters for a little while.

Jareth poured another glass of wine. Right now, his goblin attendants would be in his chambers gathering, packing and preparing. He went back to the window again and frowned into the darkness as he took another sip.

Of all the time they had spent apart, tonight was turning out to be the most agonising of them all. Just a few hours had passed, but they felt like an eternity. Jareth fixed the solitary star in the Underground's sky with his gaze. He could control so much in this kingdom, but he could not control an Oracle's magic. One tiny walnut had brought him to his knees.

_Come on, you old fart, get that magic of yours moving faster. I've waited long enough._

JSJSJSJ

Jareth was still wide awake, reclining in his chair and stacking crystals one on top of the other, when his study door flew open several hours later. An out of breath goblin stood in his way. "Sire! Me sire!" panted the goblin. "Wizarflin has opened it! It's open! He says you can go now!"

Jareth let the column of crystals scatter, wakening a snoozing Tribble who had succumbed to the effects of the wine Jareth had been drinking with him as he leapt up. He conjured one last crystal and turned to Tribble. "I'll see you soon, friend." Then, with a swirl, the goblin king vanished.

He reappeared a few second later deep inside the castle's underground chambers, inside the castle oracle's room. It was dark, and he could just about make out the bent up figure of the lower level oracle sitting at his table, his long fingernails hovering over a walnut that lay cracked in half.

Jareth drew on all his strength to make sure he remained polite now, though what he wanted was to shake the old man by his shoulders and find out what the High Oracle's walnut contained. He bit his lip and cleared his throat.

"What word?" he asked in a clipped tone. If Tribble had been there, he'd have caught the nerves in his voice for sure. Just as well he wasn't.

The oracle grumbled to himself, lifting the two halves of the walnut in his hands. He coughed a throaty cough and emptied the contents of the shells onto the dark blue piece of paper which he had uncrumpled on the table top. A black powder fell out and settled on the sheet.

"Hmmmm, yes, yes" said the oracle, taking out a scroll. He unbundled it with his gnarled fingers, scratching small black markings onto the surface as he peered onto the black powder. Jareth shifted from one foot to the other, desperate to get things going faster. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for. The black powder contained the directions to where he and Sarah had to meet to visit the Oracle.

The oracle lifted his gnarled left hand and scratched around in the black powder with a long, pointed nail. He mumbled to himself as he scraped this way and that, and soon the powder began to shift across the page of its own accord. Jareth watched the oracle like a hawk, following his beady eyes peering out from enormous eyebrows. The powder danced across the paper as if chasing an invisible point, and finally it stopped.

The oracle leaned in closer and looked. "Hmmm, a faraway place, yes, yes, I see now. The constellation and the pattern of the stars. Ha! Yes, quite obvious. This is where you must go."

Jareth clenched his fists and looked at the powder which had settled into glowing pinpricks of light on the dark paper. He vaguely recognised a few, but not nearly enough to pinpoint the time and place the Oracle wanted him to go to. He squared his jaw as he watched the palace oracle continue to write on his scroll. The sound of his writing seemed impossibly loud. Little flecks of ink flew from his quill where it caught on the paper. He couldn't hold back any longer. "Well? Where exactly?" he hissed impatiently.

The oracle looked up slowly, a flash of offence flashing across his face for a moment. "Matters of destiny cannot be pushed, sire." he wheezed. Before Jareth could say anything, the old man leaned over the paper and blew the black dust away.

"What did you do that for you old-"

"The place you need to travel to," said the oracle, binding the completed scroll back up and holding it out to Jareth, "Is a land known by our people as the Western desert. The Maghreb, above ground. Herein you will find all the details. Be at the starting point of your journey within the next 48 hours, the sooner the better, lest you miss your window of opportunity."

Jareth gave a curt nod of thanks and snatched the scroll, immediately transporting himself back to his study where Tribble had gone back to dozing, waking the old Fae up with a start.

Jareth placed the scroll carefully on his desk, then immediately began pulling books from his shelf and tossing them aside. Everything on the high oracle of the Maghreb, everything on the desert, everything on etiquette when receiving your destiny. "Take a look," he said, without waiting for Tribble to speak.

Tribble reached across the desk and unrolled the scroll. He nodded, his eyes widening. "The desert Oracle. Well, that's something. Luckily we know her assistant. I believe you might even have met her once."

But Jareth wasn't listening. He stacked whichever books he thought would be useful to him and pulled out a piece of paper, messily dipping his quill in the inkpot and writing as fast as his hands could.

"Have Noble Steed woken and brought to me immediately."

"Sire, there are other messengers on duty. Must you wake the girl? She worked last night too."

"Tell her she'll be paid four times over. She's the only one I trust with this message. She's the only one Sarah knows." barked Jareth, not looking up from his writing.

Tribble got up and went to summon someone to fetch the young messenger, as well as prepare everything Jareth would need for the trip. There would be just enough time for a final energy cleanse, a strong one. Jareth could not be accompanied on this trip by anyone but Sarah, and he felt a tiny stab of worry that he couldn't be there with his king. A sage and silver birch cleanse, that should do it, he thought.

Jareth's message was short and to the point. He folded the paper, hastily sealed it and waited for Noble Steed, making a list of the things he had to do before he left. Sarah's work, that would need taking care of. He'd arrange for a special illusion so that no one even knew she was gone.

So Morocco it was. The desert Oracle, the most powerful of them all. Sarah's destiny must certainly be a strong one to merit such a summoning. Jareth bit his thumb, tapping the sealed letter against his desk impatiently. What time was it Aboveground now, anyway? Close to dawn, he reasoned.

_Not long my love._

JSJSJSJSSJ

Sarah wondered if the knock had been a dream. But in the blue light of the breaking dawn, she could see the white piece of paper poking out from under her door.

_What the….?_

Sarah rubbed the sleep from her eyes and switched the light of her kitchen hob to take a better look. A letter from Jareth? But how?

_Oh my god…!_

Trying to shake the fuzziness of sleep from her mind, Sarah ripped open the seal and began to read. It was just one page and a few lines, the shortest letter Jareth had ever sent her, but when her eyes ran over his curled writing, she understood exactly why. The letter fluttered to the ground as she bolted to her wardrobe and began to pull things from it, both her heart and her mind racing.

_Oh crap! It's really happening! A backpack, that's what I need to take, right? No! The cotton bag I bought, natural fibres. Isn't that what he'd said. _

The key around her neck. Her mother, Jareth. She'd finally be getting some answers.

And she'd finally be seeing Jareth again. After all this waiting, time seemed suddenly to move too fast. She tried desperately to recall all the instructions Jareth had given her in preparation, making a mental note to stand outside the salon down the road and wait there until the girls came to open up to get the first waxing appointment of the day.

_Fuck! Should have done that before. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is real. Oh, Jareth… please, let it be like it was. Let it be a good fortune..._


	19. Chapter 19: A strange journey

AN: you all are amazing for sticking with me! Trust me I'm trying to squeeze in writing as often as possible, but I changed jobs and things have been crazy. Enjoy and forgive any typos! I recommend you listen to Natacha Atlas' song Etheric Message (Maktub) while you read this, the 5:37 length version with the intro, you can find it online easily.

Sarah woke with a start and lay where she was for a few minutes, confused by the strange setting. She found herself in that hazy twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness induced by too little sleep, a long journey and a sudden change in climate. The room was hot and muggy, and she kicked off the sheet covering her to get some air. Sarah was drenched in sweat. She'd been dreaming, but about what? She couldn't remember. It must have been a nightmare, because her heart was racing and her hands were clammy.

She tried to focus on something, and the slow whir of the ceiling fan caught her attention. Like the pieces of a puzzle falling into place, she began to wake up properly and remember where she was. She was on the most bizarre journey she'd ever been on. About 24 hours earlier, she'd been holding Jareth's letter summoning her to Morocco in her hands. And that's where she was no, resting in a tiny room in a cheap hotel as she waited for the next step of her trip.

She sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. A mix of emotions coursed through her - excitement, trepidation, fear, curiosity, a little sadness. It was safe to say that Rosa had not sent her off with her blessings. In fact, they'd had the first real fight of their friendship.

She remembered how her friend's face had dropped when she'd found out why she was at her flat at the ungodly hour she was. Sarah had to tell _someone_ where she was going, who else other than Rosa?

Rosa hadn't let her finish before she wrapped her nightgown tighter around herself and shook her head of red curls. "There is no way that you're doing this. This is nuts, Sarah. Morocco? And what if you get sold into a sex slave cartel? You barely know this guy! I've never even met him!"

Sarah had tapped her foot impatiently and pleaded with her friend to understand. "Rosa, I know it's weird, don't ask me why or how or even if this is a good idea. Just trust me when I tell you it'll all eventually make sense. Please, I need to know you've got my back."

But Rosa had grumbled and shook her head. "You're mad if you think I, as your best friend, am okay with this whole deal. Why can't this Jareth guy come to visit _you_ if he's so into you?"

It was time to go. The two women eyed each other, Rosa angry and worried and Sarah apologetic and tense. She was the one who breached the distance between them to give her friend a hug as she stood on her doorstep stiffly. Before she let her go, Rosa had whispered, "You make sure you let me know you got there safely," and with that, they'd parted ways.

A thousand miles away in Morocco, contrary to Jareth's instructions, Sarah still had her phone, and picked it up to find a message for her from her friend.

_Did u reach ok?_

_Not there yet, _thought Sarah, but she typed in a smiley face and a simple message: _yes, got here fine, just had a nap :)_

She'd have her phone for a little while more until her next minder turned up. Jareth's instructions had been very detailed, but until she got on the horse to the halfway house, she would be accompanied by minders from the Underground. The first had met her at the airport, a perfectly ordinary looking man who would not have caught anyone's attention, except for Sarah's when she noticed the small blue-black tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It was Jareth's insignia, the same shape as the amulet he always wore around his neck, sported in some way or the other by those most fiercely loyal to his kingdom.

He had told her to ensure she located this mark on all her minders before entrusting herself to them, and a tinge of relief had swept through her when the man had wordlessly turned his wrist to her as he reached for her. Noticing the recognition in her eyes, he'd taken her into a dusty old taxi and through the winding streets of the city.

"There is a place I will take you, amira, where you can rest for some hours. The journey ahead might be long. Sometimes the halfway house shifts in the desert. His highness thought you will need to rest to have strength for all that is to come. I agree with him." the man had said.

Sarah had just nodded, gawking out of the window at all the new sights and sounds rushing past. Soon they were outside a tiny hotel, which at first Sarah mistook for a house. The man had walked in with her small bag and greeted the owner. They'd quietly talked for a few seconds, before the other man's eyes had widened.

"Ahhhh… amira is here. Yes, good! We are honoured!" he'd said to Sarah. It was then that Sarah realised. Why had both men called her amira?

She smiled as politely as she could. "Thank you, it's great to be here. But my name is Sarah…"

Both men had kept looking at her as they smiled and nodded. "You are Sarah. It means princess." said the first man. "So here, in our land, you are amira. You are a princess in arabic too! And more so, since not only are you here for your destiny, you are the guest of Jareth. It's a very rare honour for us to host a guest so doubly special." said the second man.

They had ushered her to her room and said they'd be back in a few hours. "Sleep now, amira, and we will send something for you to eat and drink. Oh, and please," said the second man, leaning in very slightly, "do not leave this place with those who don't bear our mark."

Sarah had understood. She'd quietly closed the door behind her and sat on the bed to take off her shoes. She was dressed in a white cotton gypsy skirt, white poet's shirt and a black waistcoat. It had been a long time since she'd dressed like this. Like herself, in fact. The clothes were so comfortable, and she was tired. She lay down for a few moments and must have fallen into a deep sleep. It had been early in the morning when she got here, and now the sun was lower in the sky.

Sarah stretched and yawned as she surveyed the contents of the small room. She herself barely had anything with her, just a small denim backpack with the things Jareth had told her to bring. She got up and walked to the dark, wooden door. When she turned the brass knob, she let out an involuntary gasp. At her feet was a small wooden tray, richly inlaid with mother of pearl designs and holding a cup of hot mint tea, a plate of delicious looking cakes, a crystal water glass and a bowl of pistachios.

Sarah took the tray into her room, realising suddenly how hungry she was. It was gone within moments, and as she looked out of the sky a the approaching dusk, she could hear noises. People outside her window went about their daily lives. There was hustle and bustle, the chatter and laughter of small children, as the people of the small city emerged into the streets the sun was retreating from. It was much too hot to go out during the day. She peered out of the window - the streets were so narrow that there wasn't much to see as people pressed through them. She could see the slice of a fountain sitting between a gap in the walls - a courtyard? Maybe a public square. Just below her window, a man was roasting coffee beans. A small boy ambled up to him and put a few coins in his hand. They chatted for a few moments with Sarah eavesdropping but understanding nothing, and the man gave the boy a paper bag with warm beans inside.

She watched the child smile and turn to run, and felt a sudden twinge in her heart as she thought of Toby, so far away now. She hadn't dared revealed her trip to anyone back home, saying only that she was going camping for a few days and wouldn't have a phone signal.

Sarah was so lost in these thoughts that she didn't hear the knock on her door, timid first, then a bit more earnest.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she suddenly returned to reality. She leapt up to open the door, her messy hair flying in all directions. A squat, round woman stood before her, with beady eyes set far inside her face. Sarah got the shock of her life when the woman began to speak, revealing a voice so deep that it should have belonged to a man.

"Amira. I Mezresh come in." she said, more a statement than a question. Sarah dumbly stepped aside. The woman came in, and without asking made a beeline for Sarah's bag. She began to shake it and empty things, taking out this and that and making grunts of approval.

"Hey!" said Sarah, suddenly angry. "What are you doing!"

The woman kept going and suddenly said "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh…. Oooooohhhhhhh…." she turned around with Sarah's phone in her hand.

"Amira naughty naughty girl. Goblin king said no magic box. I keep for you." she said, as Sarah watched her phone disappear into the woman's robes.

She began to talk and then stopped. Jareth had said that, she thought. Mezresh eyed her with her small, dark eyes. "Is dangerous, amira." she said. Then she leaned in "They are listening. Enemies can be hiding," she whispered, gesturing in the air. Sarah nodded. The woman took her two hands and looked up at her. She was so short she barely reached Sarah's waist. She turned her hands so the palms faced upwards, and Sarah saw again the tattoo on her wrist as well. The woman smiled. "I keep safe. Come. We go."

She began to drag Sarah behind her, bringing her backpack with the pre-approved items in it. They went down the stairs, and just before they stepped outside, Mezresh shouted something and another figure emerged from the now-dim light of the hotel's lobby. Sarah hardly had time to register anything, when a midnight blue cotton shawl was thrown over her head, coming down in front of her almost like a hood. Mezresh nodded. "Enemies no see amira."

She took Sarah's hand in her own - it was rough and small - and rushed Sarah outside. They went down through the streets, past the coffee seller, through the narrow streets to the fountain in the square, on and on, winding and weaving through the dusk crowds, walking so fast that Sarah was surprised at the little woman's incredible stamina, until the crowds thinned. Still they kept walking, and Sarah realised that the small city had fallen behind them. They were now at its edge. Overhead, the sky had turned orange and blue with a scattering of stars and a tiny crescent moon. Ahead stretched nothing but empty desert from what Sarah could see.

Mezresh brought her to the foot of a palm tree where a beautiful grey horse was tethered. Sarah was panting now, but the older woman had barely broken a sweat. Sarah dared now to lift the shawl and stare at the gorgeous creature. The silence was crystal clear, as deep as a winter pool, and against it, everything else sounded louder. The woman finally let go of her hand and cooed softly to the horse, talking to it and pointing to the desert. She spoke for a while more, and to Sarah's surprise when the woman was done, the horse nodded in understanding.

Satisfied, Mezresh patted his back and stepped aside. "You go now, amira. To bath house. Leave the horse outside. You safe with this horse. He knows the way."

"Thank you," exclaimed Sarah. She gingerly mounted the horse, grateful to have spent the last few weeks brushing up on her horseriding skills. Sarah took her bag of things from the woman, and looked at her hands gripping the reins, wondering how to ask. She didn't need to.

"You very beautiful, Sarah. And good heart. Stupid king Jareth finally make good choice. I know him from baby. Naughty king. But also good heart. He waiting at bath house." said Mezresh.

Sarah's face broke into a smile and she felt a blush creep into her face, but she didn't get a chance to say anything back. Mezresh straightened up, shouted something and brought her small hand down sharply on the rump of the horse.

It bucked and immediately shot into the desert. Sarah had to think fast, crouching against his speed as his grey hair mingled with her own. The horse went faster than anything she had experienced, and Sarah quickly chanced a backward glance. The city had fallen away very fast. Within minutes it had turned into a little patch, then a blob, then a dot, and finally gone altogether as the dusk deepened.

Sarah lost track of time, holding on to the horse who galloped in time to her heart. This was such a strange journey, a crazy adventure. _What am I doing?_

Night had just begun to fall when Sarah saw what looked like a glowing dot on the flat horizon. The horse seemed to notice too, and galloped even faster. The dot grew bigger and bigger, and soon Sarah watched in amazement as the glowing bathhouse appeared in the desert. She could make out the figures heading to and fro lighting lanterns here and there, and finally the horse slowed right down to a gentle trot.

Even from the outside, the pale green bathhouse looked magnificent. It was as if it were entirely carved from jade. She watched in wonder as all sorts of creatures made their way to the gate, and noted, true to what Jareth had described, the way they chattered and talked until they passed through the gateway, after which they stopped altogether. Even children cut their sentences off midway once their little feet went over the threshold.

As she watched all this, a pair of hands led her horse to where the others were. Sarah looked to see who the stranger was. It was a goblin, with a deep blue stone set in the middle of his forehead. He wordlessly tethered her horse, and Sarah took her cue, jumping off to give the creature time to rest.

How long had they been riding? Where was this place? She looked in every direction, but light was nowhere to be seen on the horizon. Just the bathhouse.

_Quick! Remember what you do next.._ thought Sarah. Oh right, just follow the others. Sarah wrapped the blue shawl around her shoulders, grateful to have it against the cold desert night. Her windswept hair must look a mess, but no one seemed to notice. Some of the others looked like her, some looked like nothing she'd ever seen even in her collection of books and stories on fairy creatures. She was grateful for the variety. It meant she wouldn't be noticed.

She feigned a nonchalant confidence as she walked through the gates, marvelling at how the talking turned to instant silence as she did so.

_Cool, calm_ she thought, feeling proud of how hard she'd studied Jareth's letters and instructions. She knew them off by heart.

As she approached the entrance of the bathhouse, she noticed a few figures who were sitting in hammocks scattered around the grounds. It looked like a good place to rest. Sarah made a note of trying one out while she was here. Since she'd come all this way, why not? She was fully clued up, so she might as well just enjoy the experience now.

A beautiful looking fae woman sat unbraiding her impossibly long white hair in one of the hammocks. It fell like a river around her feet. Once all her hair was loosened, she sank back into the hammock with a peaceful sigh, kicking her shoes off at the same time. Sarah's eyes came to rest on another figure, dressed in blue robes the same colour as her scarf. Jareth had told her not to stare at anyone because it would make it obvious she was not from their world, so she casually ran her eyes over the man as if she was simply taking in the scene, when her heart leapt straight out of her chest.

The man dressed in the blue robes, his golden hair falling about his shoulders, would not have been recognizable to Sarah had she not had enough time for a quick glance at his face. It was Jareth, looking so fantastically different that no one would have known it was him. His hair lay in gentle slopes on his shoulders - of course, why would he advertise his status in a bathhouse? - and gone were the tight breeches and leather. Even the swagger stick. But it was definitely Jareth. And he was staring right at her. And though she didn't break her stride, or show her shock or exhilaration and let her eyes fall on him for barely a second, she'd caught the tiny, imperceptible smirk on his face as their eyes met.

_Well done, my precious thing_ the look seemed to say. Sarah looked ahead, her heart pounding, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jareth rise and join the line of creatures, fae and, well, her, as they waited to get inside the bathhouse. She wondered how long he'd been waiting there at the entrance until she arrived.

So many months, and now there he was. Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain her composure.

_He's here, oh my goodness this is real._

Now the fun would truly begin, thought Sarah, as she entered the cosy confines of the bathhouse, her entire being electric with the sensation that Jareth was just a little way behind her.


	20. Chapter 20: At the steps of destiny

AN: Don't forget to review!

The halfway house was a grand place, even though the insides were simple and comforting. It was tall and thin, about eight storeys high, and illuminated with gentle light from candles and lanterns everywhere. Sarah had no idea what time it was, she had no watch, and she could spot no way to measure time as she looked around.

Alive with the awareness that Jareth was drinking her in with every glance he could steal in as casual a way as possible, she put one foot in front of the other, standing in a queue at the end of which she had no idea what lay.

As she approached the front, she watched what those in front of her did. Each creature was being handed a small rug with a number on it. They each wriggled out the tag in the corner of the rug, and busily headed off in the direction they thought they should go. She felt alarmed - how the hell was she supposed to know where to go? - but then as she got to the desk, she saw curly arrows on the wall behind, each numbered from one to eight pointing this way and that.

Sarah pretended to be bored and tired, at least the second part was true, and feigned a yawn as the tall, thin creature in front of her placed a her rug in front of her. She couldn't make out what it was supposed to be, some sort of a mix between a goblin and fae, but with features that looked more like a deer than a human, long and thin, with black, pool-like eyes.

She took the rug and mimicked everyone else's motions, tugging out the tag. Seven. Her lucky number. The arrow on the wall showed 7 to the right, so that's where she went, still not knowing what the rug was for. A series of arrows sent her in the right direction and Sarah began to feel the length of her journey and the strangeness of this whole situation start to weigh on her.

She suddenly felt so alone and so tired, in spite of all the people around her, and in spite of being in this beautiful place. How nice a hug would be now, or a little conversation. But there was just the gentle shuffling of feet, and quiet murmuring now and then. Finally she reached an enormous hallway, up which eight sets of very narrow wooden stairs led, each numbered.

She took the seventh set of stairs, struggling to keep her balance on the narrow stairwell and wondering how the enormous creature in front of her, who seemed to overflow over the bannister as he walked, kept his balance. He looked like a sumo wrestler, but his skin was purple, and he had gills on the side of his head.

_You're staring_ a voice in her head chastised, and Sarah went back to trying to keep her balance. The long gypsy skirt had been comfortable to travel in, and it had kept her cool, but she kept tripping on it. _Dammit!_

The stairs ascended through several floors. When they reached the top, she found herself in an empty room lined with small windows all the way around, and tiny lanterns placed at regular intervals. She watched as each creature put their bags on the floor and unfurled their little rug, flicking it out and letting it go, where it expanded rapidly before it hit the floor into a mattress to fit the exact proportions of whoever had laid it out.

Round, square, tall, thick, thin and curved mattresses flung out in every direction, each next to a lantern. Sarah wondered what hers would look like. She gulped as she put her own backpack down and flicked the rug out, releasing it and watching as it grew and thickened, falling flat on the wooden floor with a dull thud. Sarah had to suppress a cry as the magic worked, but when it was over she felt a bit disappointed. Her mattress looked so ordinary. It wasn't a fancy shape, or speckled with glitter like her neighbour's was. It was just… rectangular.

Sarah frowned and wondered for a moment if it would be ok to test it out or whether that would make her stand out, but noticing a few others sit down and bounce on their mattresses, trying them on for size and comfort, she too swung herself around and plopped down on the mattress, allowing herself a little giggle and a sigh of contentment. She leaned back on her hands, starting to relax a little and looked around. And who should she see but Jareth, settled down exactly opposite her, one hand lazily dangling off his cocked leg, and he was watching her.

_Oh crap!_ thought Sarah. He was on the same floor? They'd be sleeping in the same room? So close to each other but unable to even touch hands? Was this just to unnerve her? Was it a test?

_What are you playing at, Jareth? _she wondered, casually drawing her eyes around the floor's other occupants. How had he arranged this if no one was meant to know who he was in here? She pushed the thought out of her head, making a note to ask him tomorrow. But she felt his eyes on her. It was animalistic, intense. She almost longed to escape to the bath house where he couldn't see her any more, where she could think straight and work out the magnitude of the day to come, finally speaking to Jareth after so many feverish letters exchanged. Finally touching him. She felt a rush of heat in her face, thinking about the things he had said to her and the dreams he'd sent her.

It turned out she didn't have to wait very long. A low chime sounded and everyone rose to their feet, leaving their belongings behind. They filed all the way back down the stairs, Sarah tripping on her skirt here and there and quietly cursing herself for her clumsiness, and walked in a neat line past the desk where they'd taken their rugs and down another set of steps beyond a thick curtain.

As Sarah pushed through, she felt a vivid burst of fragrant, humid air hit her face. It instantly made her feel more relaxed. There was something familiar about the smell, it reminded her of the bath she'd taken in Jareth's presence with those strange little bottles. But some of the smells were new. Still, she wondered why they felt so known to her, her instincts latched onto them immediately, and she felt the tight sinews in her shoulders relax.

The file of creatures began to split off in various directions. Sarah quickly looked for whoever looked most like her, and seeing the fae woman she'd seen in the hammock, she decided to follow her. She was fae, and that's what Sarah was trying to pass as.

She watched the fae's fair head duck through a doorway, and found herself being quickly handed a soft, striped towel and a few leaves. When she turned, she saw that the other females were already starting to undress and placing their clothes into little pigeonholes on the wall. Feeling a little embarrassed, Sarah did the same until she was stark naked. The humid air caressed her skin and she followed the women as they made their way to the middle of a large room with a pool in the middle.

Her nervousness evaporated as she placed a foot inside the water. It was the perfect temperature, and gushed from everywhere. It poured down the light grey marble walls in carved channels, into the pool and then out again, constantly replenishing itself. Attendants stood at the foot of various channels, periodically tipping in herbs and oils. Occasionally, someone went up and whispered something to them, at which they'd nod and pull out a particular bottle from their apron and pour the contents into a channel of water.

Sarah wondered if there was something for the dull headache that had been plaguing her all day but she didn't dare speak in case she gave herself away. She took a cup she found next to her and poured water over her head, feeling the muscles under her scalp begin to unwind. That was better. The other females rubbed the leaves on their bodies and hair, working up a lather as they scrubbed and washed their bodies which seemed to come in so many shapes and sizes.

Sarah did her best not to stare, but she couldn't help but compare. The soreness from her all over wax job was fading, especially with the warm water, and since no one seemed to be rushing, she took time to look at herself. A little bit of water had pooled in her bellybutton, just out the reach of the key which was now on a slightly fraying ribbon. Her legs were smooth, the arches of her feet high. She looked at her round breasts and then looked around a little again.

Female forms of all shapes, colours and sizes surrounded her. She noticed that the anatomy was all the same. Some looked no different to her at all. But they were not mortal. None of them more. And try as she might, she couldn't stop stealing glances at the nymphs. No wonder Jareth had been so taken by them. They were absolutely perfect. Their light turquoise skin was flawless, their emerald and brown eyes large, glittering and clear. One of them draped her long green hair over one shoulder to reveal little pointed ears. Their limbs were long and shapely, with small waists and impossibly large, round and pert breasts. Any man would turn to jelly at their feet, Sarah could see that. More so if Jareth was right about what they got up to in bed.

She hadn't heard them talk, but based on their sighs of delight at the water, she could tell that their voices had a fractured, musical quality about them. Something like a harmonica, but much prettier.

Everyone seemed to take their time with the bath. Some dunked themselves and considered that enough, others washed and lathered and lathered again, or sat braiding their tresses into fantastic patterns. Sarah took her time, mulling over the adventures of the day, and thinking about Jareth. Somewhere in an adjacent bath house, maybe even across that next wall, he was there, bathing as she was. No nymphs to distract him.

After some time, Sarah felt clean and relaxed enough. She got up and toweled off, retrieving her clothes from the pigeonhole to get dressed again.

From this point on, there seemed to be no direction as to what she ought to do, so she followed her instincts. The relaxation of the bath brought with it exhaustion, and she needed sleep. She longed for it. Her headache was gone now, and she made her way back up the winding stairs to the seventh floor, flopping down on her mattress.

It was cool and quiet in the room. Just a few others had joined her to rest as well. The rest? Well, who knew where they were in this huge place, thought Sarah. She curled up and looked at her bare feet. Her mind registered that beyond her even toenails, Jareth sat watching, his hair damp now, his eyes seeming even more uneven in the dim light.

Her heart would have raced under normal circumstances, but she was so tired that she just watched him for a moment in a matter of fact way, feeling reassured all of a sudden. And safe. She wasn't alone in this place. Jareth was just across the way. She'd be safe. The lantern twinkled in her brown eyes as her heavy lids closed, still watching Jareth in spite of herself, and a half smile crossed her lips.

Jareth watched Sarah as she fell asleep and smiled inwardly. The bath had done her a world of good. She'd been so highly strung when she got here he had sensed it bouncing off her. But now she was relaxed and her mind was quiet. She slept without worry or fear. He longed to brush some of that brown hair off her face so that the cool air would meet her skin, but knew he couldn't. So he just watched her and took in her smell.

She smelled divine, part her own earthy fragrance and part bath house oils. Maybe he should have told her about the aphrodisiacs bath houses sometimes used which kicked in with a time delay? Jareth suppressed a low laugh as he thought of his mischief. He'd left that out of his letters. No, there'd be no need. Who even knew if this bath house's aphrodisiac oils took effect on mortals, or if they used them at all. He thought he smelt something on her, but that could even be traces of nymph, which was perfectly likely if they'd shared the same water to bathe. And judging from how she reacted in her dreams, which revealed the basest desire of her inner psyche, he knew no chemical enhancements would be needed at all should things progress in that direction.

What a long way she had come, his brave Sarah. _Don't hurt her_ a little voice said. A greedy feeling burgeoned in his heart, blurring the line between what he wanted and what he always got, and going at the pace that Sarah needed.

She was just a few feet away. He wanted her. Jareth knew that he could go and do any number of things now, take a walk, eat in the halfway house's dining room, relax in a hammock. But he didn't want to. He was content to stay here, watching Sarah out of the corner of his eye as casually as possible.

The Oracle beckoned on the horizon of time. Just a few more hours now. He would have to sure to use the time in between wisely.

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Sarah awoke feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. She looked outside the little window and realised with a start that it was late afternoon judging from the sun. How long had she slept. She looked around and noticed others still asleep, some starting to stir, and some gone altogether, including Jareth.

The day outside her window looked bone-white in the desert sun. Inside the halfway house, it was cool. Sarah got up, and seeing that Jareth's satchel was missing, she packed up her own little bag and blew out the lantern next to her bed. Now that there was no risk of staring, she took a good look at Jareth's mattress. It was absolutely spartan. She'd expected something rich and ornate, but in the plainness of his sleeping arrangement, Sarah saw in a flash the loneliness of his life. A bed, simply a place to sleep. All those fantastic bed covers and embroidered pillows must have been purely for her benefit. She saw a reluctant king handed a heavy fate which he'd nearly paid for with his life. A king who didn't need much, who felt exasperated by the pomp and ceremony thrust upon him by his role, found it slightly ridiculous but played the game anyway. She felt a tug at her heart, and an urge to go look for him.

Sarah found a simpler version of the washing room she'd been in the night before and freshened herself up. Even here the water felt wonderful, relaxing her wherever it touched her. She poured a few handfuls over her head, enjoying the trickling of the cool water on her scalp. She went to change out of her crumpled clothes into a long, deep green cotton dress with long sleeves and a white scarf to keep off the sun. She'd chosen this colour deliberately. It was the same as the one the one which Jareth had seen her in for the first time again all those months ago. But when she pulled the dress out of her bag, it was midnight blue. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

_Ha ha. Very funny, Jareth!_

She put the dress on and then guided by the rumbling of her stomach, went to find something to eat.

She found Jareth in the dining area too. He seemed to have finished eating, and was sat absorbed with a napkin which he was folding into the shape of a crane. He was wearing loose white trousers and a midnight blue robe over the top. _Of course, midnight blue. _She could see the chain of his medallion itself but noted that like yesterday, the medallion itself was hidden safely out of sight below a v neckline, loosely laced. The colour suited him. It seemed to make his golden hair seen platinum and darken his one dark eye even further. It made him look regal and other worldly.

Sarah glanced around and joined the line of diners. She followed their lead and took a wooden bowl. Her hand wobbled from the weight of the food unceremoniously plopped into the bowl, and with the other, she took the metal cup held out to her. Sitting down to eat, Sarah gulped. A greyish gruel slopped inside the bowl. On top were two of those ghastly looking blue and black eggs Jareth had almost cooked for her once. She propped the food. The blue yolks broke and leaked sadly into the gruel and Sarah's stomach did a small flip. The cup was no better. The liquid inside looked like ditch water. But Sarah knew she had to eat and drink all of this. She focused her eyes on a knot in the wood at the edge of the bowl and took a bite which to everyone else would have looked like an enthusiastic start. In the beat it took for her tastebuds to register the delicious flavours, Sarah has hoped she wouldn't throw up. But it was good. She heartily ate the rest and sipped the liquid in the cup which tasted just like sweet, milky tea.

Having emptied the bowl and cup of their contents, she folded her hands out of the way as an attendant quickly swooped in to take them. The pilgrims turned over constantly and there were other hungry mouths to feed. Sarah felt energised after the long sleep and the meal. Ready for anything.

When she looked for Jareth again her eyes found him leaning against the frame of the door leading out of the dining area straight to the exit gates, arms crossed and bag slung over his shoulder. Noticing she'd seen him, he turned to head out. Sarah quickly followed, huffing quietly inside. She understood, but the halfway house had been such a safe and relaxing place that she wanted to linger a while. And she was just a little apprehensive. It seemed like an age stretched between their last meeting and this one. In all those months she had not said his name out loud. What if her mouth had forgotten what his name felt like? A sudden shyness gripped her as she walked out into the blazing sun, a few head behind Jareth. A column of pilgrims walked through the arched exit and immediately began to talk, laugh, embrace and touch. Conversation picked up all around her exactly where people had left off.

And there was the exit, and there was Jareth stepping through and standing to a side to let others pass and now here it was in three steps, two. One.

"Hello, Sarah." said Jareth in his familiar drawl. He tipped his head to the side and smiled at herl warmly.

"Hello Jareth" she replied, gripping the shoulder strap of her bag. There. She'd said his name. Her mouth hadn't forgotten. A heavy shoulder her shoved her from behind and Sarah instinctively hissed "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Jareth took her elbow and leas her out of the way of the others impatiently making their way out of the hallway house, laughing at the glint of anger in her eyes.

"I almost thought you wouldn't come" he said.

Sarah looked at hIm, a little surprised. " Why would I not have come, Jareth?"

Jareth began walking with her. "Because of your rebellious nature. Because you so enjoy defying me. And because you might be scared of receiving your destiny. And scared of seeing me again." He said, placing his bag down as he approached a jet black horse tethered with the others and equipped with a double seated saddle.

Sarah scoffed " I'm not scared of you, Jareth"

He smiled again realizing how he'd missed their sparring sessions. "And the other thing?"

"I guess, just a little. But I still want to know."

"Then we better find out," said Jareth, who had finished attaching both their bags to the side of the horse. He untied the horse and held out his hand for Sarah. "Where's my horse?" she asked, looking for the lovely grey creature that she'd ridden the night before.

"It was led back to Mezresh last night. Clever thing, that horse." said Jareth, securing a few more lines. He was wearing white leather gloves now, and Sarah watched his fingers tie this and that and pat the horse. Satisfied, Jareth stepped back.

"The back saddle," he instructed, as she put her foot in the stirrup and hauled herself up. The horse shook a little as Jareth did the same. Sarah frowned, feeling a little deflated. Why had he made her sit behind him? And not even a kiss? She soon discovered the reason, when Jareth's voice called out over his shoulder "Hold on tight". She rolled her eyes and did so, and with a kick of Jareth's heels, the horse bolted into the desert sun.

Sarah yelped, huddling down and holding on to Jareth for dear life. She felt the tight muscles under the fabric, the battle-hardened body of a warrior, ready like a coiled spring, never daring to relax. The horse charged on and the halfway house vanished into the blinding light.

Away from her gaze, Jareth smiled to himself. He had perfected the art of taking everything in from his peripheral vision and he had not taken his eyes off Sarah the whole time at the halfway house, except for when she went to bathe. He had sat in that hot yard in the hammock for hours, waiting to see if the relay of information he'd been receiving would indeed play out, that she indeed would come.

When she had, he'd seen her misstep when she'd noticed him. It had taken all his power to not do or say anything to her. It had taken all his discipline to not kiss her now. But to do so would have revealed how special she was to him in front of too many eyes. He couldn't risk that. Not so close to the goal or seeing the Oracle. Others had fallen on each other as they'd left, it was acceptable to do so. But even without his regal hair to advertise himself, Jareth could feel the curious glances. Try as he might, he couldn't fully conceal his status. People felt it in his energy, the way he walked.

He'd killed some time in the dining area earlier, waiting for Sarah to wake up. Hours had passed and he felt himself grow impatient. He was in a hurry. _Lazy girl!_ Finally, she'd appeared, wearing the midnight blue dress and looking fully refreshed. Magic was not allowed, but little tricks like changing colours went unnoticed, largely because of the colour changing race of Fae which shifted colours to suit their mood. If the attendants came running every time a colour magically changed, they'd never get anything done in that place.

He'd never seen that colour on her, and when she'd stumbled off her horse, he'd noticed immediately the effect it gave her skin, how it made her eyes seem so green. It was a splendid combination, Mezresh had got exactly the colour he'd requested of her, and changing the colour of the dress was a little mischief on his part to let Sarah know that he was watching. That he missed nothing, not the smatter of pink on her forearm which he knew was from following his hair removal instructions, not the glint of the lamp in her eyes. He saw it all. And now he felt her delicious embrace, even if it was out of necessity. And it calmed him. _Oh dear. That's trouble. _

The Oracle disliked inharmonious energies. She disliked things unsaid and energies unspent. Jareth had had other plans, but the relaxing bathhouse and its powerful oils would have to suffice. There wasn't time.

Riding on through the heat, it seemed to Sarah as if they were riding to nowhere. Her butt was getting sore from the saddle and she held on tighter, wondering how much further the tent was. She glanced through her flying hair and saw the jagged line of some mountains. They grew closer and closer, and in time Jareth slowed the horse.

He brought it to a slow trot now, and began to lead it through the rocks. They passed through several alleys and canyons, hidden on all sides by the sheer rocks, until they came to an opening with a single tree and a depression in the ground.

"We're here," he said, dismounting in one smooth move. Sarah looked around. "This is where we're spending the night?"

"Well maybe not all of the night, maybe it won't take that long." he said, removing his gloves enigmatically. Sarah looked at him and noticed his gave, very straight and serious now. He looked down quickly.

"So you dragged me all this way to sleep under a tree? Fancy stuff, Jareth. I'm all for slumming it but I didn't know you liked rolling in the dirt." teased Sarah. Something about Jareth's seriousness unnerved her, and she was trying to get him to quip back at her. A joke. Something. But Jareth spoke as if he'd not heard her at all.

"Sarah, do you remember how I wrote to you that the halfway house shifts and moves in the sand?"

"Yes?" she said, hopping down from the horse and trying to fix her rumpled dress and messy hair.

"It moved again a week ago, after a very rare sandstorm. This means something quite important."

Sarah bit her lip and frowned a little "That we're not seeing the Oracle?"

"On the contrary. It moved much closer than it's ever been. It means we don't need to spend another night away before we travel to her. She's right here. In a cave under that tree."

Sarah's mouth dropped open. Her fists clenched involuntarily "Oh my gosh…" she said, barely whispering.

Jareth watched her, noticing the blood rush to her face, seeing in the vein on her neck how her heart had started to race. She needed to stay calm. Somehow, he had to stop her racing thoughts. He stepped forward, wordlessly took her by the shoulders to break her train of thought, and kissed her deeply. He held her and kissed her until he felt her hard shoulders relax in his grip. After all these months, it felt like a release like no other. Never had he gone this long without even a kiss. His soul hungrily ate it up. He felt a twinge of despair. Who knew what the Oracle would tell them, it could be something to tear them apart. And he had still not tasted Sarah. Not fully. If she walked after the next few hours, he would have no choice but to let her go.

"I know this is unexpected, and I had some… work to do with you before you were ready, but if you think you can focus yourself and stay composed, you have the chance to learn your destiny right at this moment. Both of us do."

Sarah gazed at the tree, trying to calm her breathing. She wondered if she'd start crying. She'd needed that extra day to psyche herself up. But here it was now. Time had run out. Like in the Labyrinth.

"Do you think you can manage, my precious?" asked Jareth as he held her face in his palms, his eyes boring into her.

Sarah closed her eyes. She breathed deep, the musty smell of the mountains and the earth meeting her nostrils. High overhead in a shaft of light, an eagle flew. She heard its cry and knew that in mythology, an eagle was a sign of the highest aspirations of the soul. It was her sign, what her own soul had longed to learn. And now, here it was, all at once.

"Yes," she replied, after what seemed like an age to Jareth.

"One last thing you should know - the Oracle's predictions always come true. She might tell you something which could break your heart or drive… something between us." he couldn't bring himself to say hate. It was too strong, and the risk of it coming to bear too great. "Are you prepared for anything she might tell you, good and bad?"

Sarah squared her jaw. A picture of her mother flew through her imagination. "Yes, Jareth." she said, looking him dead in the eye.

At her words, he released her and walked down the shallow banks of the depression to the foot of the tree. He removed his medallion and pressed it against the earth among the roots. There was a low sigh, almost a groan, and the roots parted. Jareth took Sarah's hand, half shielding her with his body, but made no move to go in.

Shortly, some shuffling sounds came from within, and a woman's head popped out. She was beautiful, with large dark eyes and tattoos on her chin and cheeks, and she held a lantern in her small brown hands. She looked around, shielded her eyes against the light and noticing Jareth, clasped her hands together in delight.

The woman climbed out of the hole now and walked up to Jareth, but she didn't touch him. She giggled as she spoke in a language Sarah didn't know. Jareth replied, extracting delighted laughs from her. She heard that word again, amira, and the woman stopped and turned to Sarah, the smile still on her lips. "Ooooooooh" she whispered. "You have come a long way" the woman said, in heavily accented English. "We are ready, come come! Eyes watching!" she said a little gravely, ducking back into the hole. She turned again, her many silver ornaments shaking in her ears and hair and making tinkling sounds like water on rocks standing just within the entrance of the cave.

"Come!" she said, gesturing to them both. Sarah turned to Jareth, noticing the heavy, almost sad look in his eyes. She walked ahead as Jareth followed, disappearing through the hole as the roots closed behind them once more.


	21. Chapter 21: In the language of dreams

AN: What follows are the chapters I worked this entire fanfic around when I first thought it up 2 years ago. I know some of these themes have been done in other labby fanfics, I realised that once I read them. Here's my humble offering, please review!

The roots closed behind Sarah and Jareth with a final low groan. Sarah blinked a few times, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, she saw an arched corridor or smooth ochre alabaster, disappearing into the distance. The walls were lined with small oil lamps at regular intervals. The woman led the way, shadows swaying on the walls in time to the lantern.

She turned every now and then, her dark red skirt gathered in her free hand, smiling warmly and repeating "Come!" Her feet padded softly on the ground, and Sarah noticed that she wasn't wearing shoes.

The narrow channels reminded Sarah of the route Hoggle had taken her out of the oubliette. Then too she had followed, not knowing where she would end up. She quickly glanced back at Jareth for reassurance, but he was looking dead ahead and missed the worry in her eyes. Soon the corridor came to a doorway and the woman set down her lantern. "Wait here. I will come back for you."

Jareth leaned his back against the wall and said something to her and she descended into giggles again, shaking her head and giving him an "oh you" gesture with her hand. When her giggling subsided she repeated "I'll come back" and went through the door, shutting it behind her. Sarah heard the metallic crunch of it being firmly locked from the other side.

"Her name's Kahina." said Jareth now that they were alone.

"Is she the Oracle?"

"No. She's her assistant. She translates for the Oracle, delivering her message. I've known her a long time."

Sarah felt an unwelcome stab of jealousy. "Oh? She's very beautiful. I guess a lot of guys know her." She followed Jareth's lead and leaned her back against the opposing wall. It was smooth and cool.

Jareth raised an eyebrow and looked at Sarah, bemused "Oh come now, why the concern? Oracles and their assistants are sacred virgins. Surely you know that. Kahina's lovely but she's off limits to everyone."

The door noisily unlocked again and Kahina's head popped out. She held out two glasses of steaming tea. "Drink! I'll come back shortly!"

Jareth and Sarah each took a cup. Sarah looked at him questioningly. She didn't want tea. She wanted a hug. She wanted to know what this whole setup was about. It was so damn quiet in this place… every sound was instantly sucked up by the ground, the walls, the little flames of the little lamps.

"It's a herbal infusion to relax mind and soul. It opens up your energy pathways and makes it so that you can't hide your fate from the Oracle's third eye. It's good, it'll lighten your mood." said Jareth. He lowered his voice a little "Personally i think my lovely Kahina is a bit partial to this stuff if you know what I mean." He gave Sarah a sly wink, noting the slight tremble in her chin at the gesture. The tea would do her good. After all these months of waiting, she was utterly confused and wrong-footed by the loss of that one night that was meant to have stood between her and the Oracle. But it was too late for such thoughts now, thought Jareth. "Well, drink up." Jareth began to sip from his cup.

Sarah slowly lifted her cup to her own lips. It smelt of saffron, and many other things she couldn't identify. "What did you guys just say earlier? Before she went through the door. You said something to Kahina and she burst out laughing. What language is that?"

"It's Berber." said Jareth "Plenty of Berber tribes live around here. Kahina needs to move easily between words, so the language and the tattoos help her blend in. I was telling her that her English was getting very good."

"You speak Berber?"

"I speak over 200 languages."

"tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh'a'?" asked Sarah.

"What?"

"Never mind." she said. Klingon was a bit of a stretch. "Don't you speak the Oracle's language?"

"Oh heavens no. No one but those in the Oraclehood are allowed to learn that language. Besides, you can speak every language on the planet, it makes no difference if you've had a bad day and just don't want to talk to anyone." he said, balancing the glass on the tip of his finger to amuse himself.

Sarah looked at Jareth. His seriousness from moments ago was gone and he stood casually, one hand one his hip as he brought the glass back down and downed the contents. The lantern and a few oil lamps along the wall picked out wonderful shadows and those sharp angles on his face, his mask of confidence firmly back in place. Even without his regal hair he looked so beautiful, so sure of himself. A gently fog seemed to be descending on her mind, like after a glass of good wine.

"Jareth, have you done this before?"

"Been to an Oracle? Yes. But not to one as high as this." admitted Jareth. He could feel it in her energy that she was loosening up. Not exactly relaxing, but the tea was working. Her agitation was almost gone. Even he felt lighter, playful even. _Why not toy with my prey to pass the time?_

"So tell me you wicked, precious girl. When did you realise you were in love with me?"

Sarah spluttered on her tea a little. "In love with you? You're very sure of yourself!"

"So you deny it? You came all this way just to tell me you don't? I must say my feelings are a little hurt. I'll have to think of a good punishment for all this heartbreak."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise," drawled Jareth, smirking at her in the dim light. "So, you still haven't answered me."

She rolled her eyes. "A long time ago, alright? Before I even ran the Labyrinth, when I first read about you. From about 14 I guess." _Where was all this honesty coming from? Stupid magic tea!_

Jareth grinned, amused at her answer. He'd known it all along. He just wanted to hear her say it. "Well, I suppose it took me a little longer to come to the same conclusion."

"Is that your roundabout way of confessing love? It's not very romantic."

"How about a little gift, then, hmmm?"

"As long as it's not a peach"

"Do you want to know a secret, Sarah?" he asked.

"That depends on if it's a good one"

Jareth smirked again and set the glass down on the ground. He sighed and stood a bit taller, pausing for effect. "This meeting was seven years in the making." he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the cave's walls, waiting for Sarah's surprised reaction.

Sarah downed her own tea. "Seven _years? _But that means… you mean…. Right after I beat the Labyrinth?"

"Oh _yes_. You see Sarah, I'm a bit of a sore loser. When you beat me I couldn't accept it. I had to find out more about you, about the person who beat an impenetrable labyrinth. Now, I don't know what you'll be told in there today. I don't know any more than you do. But I do know that seven years to see an Oracle of this rank is a very very short time. She sent for you for a reason. Soon we'll find out more, we'll find out what this means." he said reaching out to touch the key through her clothes. A shiver went through Sarah and Jareth watched goosebumps spread across her skin at this imperceptible touch.

He leaned closer, pinning her to the spot with his glare. "I'd almost forgotten just how beautiful you are, Sarah. And once we're done here and unless you have plans to enter the Oraclehood I absolutely intend to-"

The door noisily rattled open again and Kahina appeared. "Are you ready? The lady first!"

Sarah looked back at Jareth and he registered the disquiet in her eyes, a slight hesitation. He'd told her they would most likely go in alone, that her destiny was hers and hers alone and it was up to her what she chose to reveal to him later, if anything at all.

Jareth wondered if he should offer to go with her, when Sarah said "I suppose I have to go in alone, don't I?"

Kahina nodded, her ornaments jangling. "It's many times best that way. Come."

Jareth caught sight of Sarah's face turn away from him. In the movement of her turn, it was as if somewhere a faraway planet spun out of orbit, crashing through his fate and changing everything. He knew in an instant that the Sarah who walked through that door would not be the same one who came back, and suddenly his hand shot out for hers.

"Wait!"

Kahina and Sarah stopped. Jareth knew that time was short now. What he said would have to count. Sarah turned toward him, and Kahina discretely stepped back.

"Whatever you hear in there, I want you to know it won't change anything for me. Nothing. I will wait for you here, and you have my word Sarah that whenever you look for me, you will always find me, whether it's as a friend or… or something more."

Sarah's hazel eyes suddenly filled with sadness. Her voice lowered. "Should I be scared of going in there, Jareth?"

"No. But be prepared and if what you hear makes you feel lost, look inside yourself for the thread that connects you to me. It will keep you grounded." he reluctantly released her hand, the image of letting go of a crystal which burst in a girl's palm coming to him in that moment, and Sarah disappeared through the door.

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Kahina quietly led Sarah inside a dull chamber. It was perfectly circular with high walls lined from top to bottom with various bottles and jars of all sizes. There were cushions on the floor, a small circular table holding a crystal and a candle, and little clay pots of smoking sage everywhere.

At Kahina's instructions, Sarah carefully lowered herself to the floor on to one of the cushions. Kahin sat down next to her at the table. "The Oracle will speak and I will tell you accordingly. Are you ready? You may ask many many questions."

Sarah nodded. There was another door exactly across from the one they had come through. She waited for it to open and for the Oracle to appear.

Kahina said something in that direction, and what Sarah had assumed to be a pile of fabric began to move and mumble.

It was the Oracle. Sarah gasped audibly in spite of herself. The old woman was so ancient and so wrinkled, that Sarah could see just two pricks of light where her eyes should be. She had sagged down into herself but sat a bit straighter now. Her lips moved, and sounds came out which just sounded like the wheezing of a throat that had spoken too much and too long. But Kahina nodded and turned to Sarah.

"Take the Oracle's hand, and your destiny will come through."

Sarah reached her hands out, and the old woman took them into her own. Now they were seated facing each other, Sarah's hands in the woman's rough, firm grip. She gulped. The Oracle made noises again, and Kahina spoke, a smile spreading across her face.

"You love him very much. He is your destined one."

Sarah felt herself redden a little, cringing a little at the thought of the Oracle being able to read her every thought. "Jareth?"

"You were the one to give away your dreams. This is not a small thing. Dreams are very precious. It is the mark of an exalted soul, the sacrifice you made. You have a very high place waiting for you, and if you choose, it will be at Jareth's side. You have earned this, but be sure that he earns that right from you."

"Oh, well, ha! Um I don't know about that."

The Oracle continued to speak, and Kahina carried on.

"But your path is a very hard one. There are much trials and much heartache. There is much love. But it will not come at an easy price. To go forward, one must know what lay in their past. You think you know, but you don't. There is a deep truth, a very sad one. You don't know this truth. You will hear it now. Are you ready Sarah or do you want to stop a little?"

Sarah felt the energy of the Oracle as it surged through her, pausing now for her answer. She shook her head. "I've waited a long time to hear what I came to hear."

"Very well." And so she spoke what the Oracle said, so that Sarah could know the truth about herself and the dark destiny which lay ahead of her.

"Many many moons ago, there lived a people. These people were of fire. They were very great and very intelligent. The best hunters in all the lands. Fire sprites. Fighters for justice and what was right. Soft hearted, but excellent assassins.

"These people did not hurt anyone. They fought only when they had to save themselves. They did this because they had an unfair advantage. When they shot an arrow, it always found its mark. A fire sprite never missed."

"Because of this, there were bad kings who hated these people, and so they came together, and they killed all of them. They killed the men, the women and the babies and the old ones. Everyone. But there was one who got away. She had very strong legs and a very fast mind. She ran. It is not easy to get out of the Underground without magic, and she had none. But there is another way. A secret way. Water portals, which take you from one world to another.

"This fire sprite was afraid of the water, but she saw that the bad kings had killed everyone, she saw her dead mother and father, her dead brothers and sisters, their blood everywhere and she jumped into the secret water and she got away. She came out of the water portal Aboveground and she was in another place. A very big country. This fire sprite came out of the portal and ran. No one could follow her this way, in this great big country."

Sarah listened patiently, wondering where this was going.

"She was able to disappear in this big country, because she was a small woman. She told herself to forget her past life, and she began to make a new one. She told stories. She was very good at this. Then the woman met a man, and with their love they made a child. This child was a girl."

"But a bad thing happened. An oracle had closed the portal for the woman so that she could not be followed, and the kings discovered this. They tortured the oracle until she revealed the place, they tortured her for such a long time. And the bad kings put all the bad oracles to work and they found the woman.

"One day when she was with her very little child outside, she felt it in her body. She felt her guts turn and she knew, she knew they had found her. So she ran. Near her home was some water with a small bridge, and she cried and loved and kissed her man and her baby. She told her man to one day tell her baby the truth and she asked her baby to forgive her. And she went into the water and came out again, this time close to here.

"She ran a very long way. She ran with only her legs, across the desert, and she came to us, to the Oracle, because her people have - had - legends about us they only told one another. That is how she could find us. She gave us some things and said one day her child would come for them. She was in very grave danger. She would not stay to even rest. She begged us to keep the things, crying all the time, and she left. We tried very hard to protect her with our spells. But we could not. She was too weakened from her trials."

Kahina stopped now. She sighed. "Do you want to stop now, Sarah?"

"No." said Sarah, her sense of dread growing. Why did she feel so sad all of a sudden? Where was this story going? She didn't dare say a word, realising her knuckles had turned white as she gripped the hands of the Oracle.

Kahina fretted as if she didn't know what to say next. "Can you tell me Sarah, what was your mother's name?"

"Linda Williams" said Sarah, perturbed by the question.

"Is that every part of her name?"

"Well, there was a middle name, but I only have the initial. It's an A."

"Do you know why that is?"

"No, we were never able to work it out."

"Your father didn't tell you?"

"No, he said he didn't know either," said Sarah. Then she remembered something "Before he, um. Before he died he said he had something to tell me about my mother. Maybe it was her name."

"Do you know what the other name for a fire sprite is in the Underground?"

Sarah shook her head carefully.

"Afriti"

A silence fell over the three women. Sarah looked at Kahina again, not understanding. "So my mother's middle name means fire sprite? Did she know this story?"

Kahina knotted her hands together. The Oracle spoke and then Kahina took a deep breath. "You are Sarah Williams. Descended from a long line of the fiercest warriors, the bravest hunters and the kindest hearts. Your people were killed, every last one of them. You are the last of your kind. Your mother had to choose between her dreams and your life, and she chose your life. Half your blood is mortal. The other half is fire sprite. She brought to us her bow and arrow for you to take and fulfill your destiny, along with the key bestowed upon you by the king, because your mother asked us to protect you, and we could only do that until you came of age. The rest, the key had to do. The key is part of your story."

Sarah felt her breathing grow shallow. Her fingers began to tingle, and it was if her mind suddenly refused to absorb any more. So she dumbly continued, asking the most obvious question. "What does the key do?"

"It opens a door. It is the key that brought you to your beloved and it will bring you to him again. Keep it, and when the time comes you will know."

"But wait, hold on a second. What door? Where is this door?"

"In a very black place. The key opens the door, but only you can go in and out again. No one else. You must not even try to take anyone else. You must leave that place and lock the door behind you. The key is your compass. Your mother left it with us. It was the last instructions given to her by the oracle who sealed the portal behind her. She told your mother that she would have a daughter, and that one day the key would help her make a very important decision. That daughter is you and this key is yours."

In the wrinkled face of the Oracle, Sarah could see nothing. Her skin was so folded and so weathered, it did not change with emotion. But tears were rolling down Kahina's cheeks now, and everything hit Sarah at once.

"My _mother?"_

The Oracle nodded from across Sarah, and finally released her hands. Sarah fell back as if she'd been pushed, scrambling up and heading to the door.

"You're all crazy! My mother left me. She's went away to be an actress. This isn't possible! Nothing in my life has ever said anything otherwise! I'm just an ordinary person!"

Kahina didn't move from where she sat. Experience had taught her that it was best to let people get it all out and not stand in their way. And Sarah had just found out that nothing from her past was as it was.

"You have a very kind heart Sarah, but to fulfill your destiny you will need to be cruel. No one can make you do that. You have to decide in that moment which path to choose. The gods will be with you whatever you decide. Beware of the man of your dreams. He may seem that he cares for you, but it's a trick. When you see him, don't tell him anything, or you will give yourself away."

The Oracle spoke again. Kahina didn't say anything. Sarah looked at her. 'What?"

"The Oracle said just now that you look just like your mother. You have the same eyes. And the same strong heart. "

At that, Sarah fell to the floor in sobs. Her energy was as an open book, and it connected to the Oracle's third eye. She saw as if in a live image before her her own mother as she'd never seen her in any photo. She saw her running for her life. She saw her father, and herself as a baby. She saw the park near their house and her mother as she ran over the stone bridge above the lake, the place Sarah had always felt drawn to to rehearse her silly plays. Her mother looked around wildly and plunged into the water. It had been the last place she had been close to her daughter. Then the Oracle and her mother handing her the key, leaving the cave and then, nothing. Just blackness. Her mother. Her poor, poor mother.

"What happened to her?"

Kahina sighed. "She ran for a while, going through water portals. But they found her eventually. It wasn't long after she came to us. She was slain."

Sarah was sobbing heavily into her own hands, mourning for the loss of her mother, crying as she never had in all these years. Not through her angry adolescence, not through her raging feelings of abandonment. This was final. It was absolute. She would never see her mother again.

"Jareth knew this, didn't he?"

Kahina shook her head. "Nobody knew. Only me and the Oracle. And your father. He didn't know how to tell you. His way was by indulging you into the world of the Underground. When you beat the Labyrinth, Jareth sensed something more to you. He was drawn to you before then. Your destinies are entwined."

Sarah remembered how her father was the one to first give her the book on the Labyrinth. He never seemed to say no to anything request of hers for more fairy figurines, or goblin toys. The pieces of the puzzle crashed into place.

"I…. I don't know wh..what to do…" said Sarah, trying and failing to get a hold of herself. The tears flowed through her heart like a river of sadness. She was struggling to talk and starting to hyperventilate. Kahina tutted in pity for the poor girl. What a way to find out, without anyone she loved with her to comfort her. She rummaged on a shelf and held opened a little jar. Taking some of the salve on her finger and rubbed it onto Sarah's forehead. She let her do it. "It won't stop the tears, you need to cry to wash your soul, but it will take away the sharpness of the pain. Come."

Kahina helped Sarah off the floor and to the door. Still crying, Sarah felt a little steadier on her feet. The balm helped. She didn't care what she looked like right now, her face streaked with tears, her hair sticking to her forehead with the balm. "Are you ready to go back out?" Sarah nodded, a dull headache starting back up at the base of her skull.

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Sitting on the other side of the door, Jareth had started to get bored. He wasn't allowed to use magic down here to pass the time, and counting the stones in the arches overhead had become boring after the first hour. What was taking so long? He couldn't hear a thing on the other side, or sense Sarah's energy. Just as he was wondering whether to knock, he heard the key turn. He stood up and waited to see Sarah come out, full of things to tell him.

Instead, Sarah walked out guided by Kahina, crumpled like a flower that had fallen off a branch in the heat. Jareth felt her energy all at once, and his heart ached in an unfamiliar way. Sarah was in deep pain, and he wanted to fix it. He wanted to fix it at once. She looked up at last, her eyes so full of sadness he couldn't stand it.

"What's going on?" he asked, taking Sarah's elbow from Kahina's. At his touch, Sarah fell into his chest, sobbing again. Normally not one for a woman's tears, Jareth instinctively enveloped her in his embrace. He looked at Kahina, anger and curiosity in his eyes.

"She heard her destiny, both past and future. It was hard for her." she said simply.

Jareth switched to Berber. "What did you tell her?"

"That's for Sarah to reveal, should she so wish. She will be alright. She is mourning for the past she thought she had. Perhaps also for the future. Are you ready, Jareth?"

"I can't leave her like this."

"Yours won't take long."

Jareth sighed impatiently, his brow furrowed. He tipped Sarah's face to his. "I must go in there now, Sarah, but I will be right back."

Sarah closed her eyes and nodded, her hand going to her forehead. She needed a few moments alone anyway.

Kahina took Jareth through the door and it locked behind them.

"I hope you don't plan to send me out in that state too" said Jareth. Kahina shook her head gravely. "Sit" she ordered.

Jareth did as he was told and took the Oracle's hands. Jareth felt the woman's powerful energy course through him. It took his breath away. His vision began to blur.

"Your enemy is close to finding you. But you are close to escaping him. Sarah is the curse breaker. You will spill her blood and the curse will be done with. There is much sadness ahead, and at the end of it, there is life."

Jareth felt like cursing. What kind of fortune was that? "What do you mean I'm supposed to spill her blood? I'd never hurt Sarah."

"You will. You will cause her much pain."

"No I won't. I refuse."

"It is written Jareth. It will happen. Sarah has a pure love for you. She is doom and salvation in one. She will be the one who betrays you to your enemies, even though she won't realise what she's doing. Remember that when the times comes, and reach for the salvation she offers. If you can put your absolute faith in her, you will be saved."

This was a disaster. All of it was wrong. He began to wish he'd never come here. "Is that it?" asked Jareth as calmly as he could. Kahina nodded. Jareth realised he'd never seen her looking this solemn. She was slowly rising from the floor, having realised he wanted to leave. He stood up abruptly.

"Permit me to use magic to leave this place." he said curtly. Kahina turned to the Oracle who made an imperceptible move. "Go in any way you wish. May the gods watch over you both."

The second Jareth felt the door open, he charged out and took Sarah's hand. She was sat against the wall. Her tears had stopped but she looked completely lost, like the loneliest person in the world. There was a flash, a dizzying sensation that Jareth was used to but which made Sarah feel sick, and Sarah and Jareth found themselves inside his tent, far away in another part of the desert.

Sarah immediately sat down again and hugged her knees, and Jareth walked away from her. Jareth tried his best to calm himself, but he couldn't. What nonsense. As if the Oracles knew anything! And what had they told Sarah to distress her so much? And why did that bother him as much as it did?

Three months of waiting for this. A joke, thought Jareth. He stripped off his shirt, standing only in his loose cream trousers and ran his hands through his hair, clutching at the strands until it hurt. Sarah would betray him. But she would also save him. He knew that the Oracle's predictions were seldom literal. They could mean any number of things. What was he supposed to do now?

What complications had come his way. He felt a rage rise inside him and twist and turn into something else. Sarah was the curse breaker, but he didn't know how to break the curse with her unless he broke her to pieces. She who had strayed into his kingdom, who had turned his world upside down, and continued to do so. Sarah would not yield to any of his whims. All he had ever wanted was to rule over her, the one person who had dared to defy him.

Jareth felt his blood grow hotter now. He turned to look at Sarah and noticed she had gotten up to face him. His challenger stood before him, no longer crying, her eyes glazed over. He'd seen that look before. He'd seen it in the heights of her passion, that passion which she would not allow herself to be fully lost in, not even then. Not even with him pushing her on. There had been release, yes. But no surrender, and watching the vein on her neck beating, her hazel eyes dewy from her crying, the hollow of her neck, how she glowed in that colour, Jareth knew what he wanted. His selfish side burgeoned and Jareth realised with the hunger of a hundred starving men that he wanted Sarah's total surrender. Right now. And he knew how he would get it.

Through the blood pounding in his ears he noticed her lips were moving. Sarah was speaking, and tearing himself away from his thoughts her voice floated to him across what seemed like a huge distance.

"Please…. Please… Jareth….."

Sarah's arms hung limply at her sides. She knew what she wanted. She was past caring now. She wanted to give in. He was there. He was right there. But Sarah found she couldn't say it. She couldn't bridge the gap though she was so aroused she felt she'd devour Jareth, or let herself be devoured by him.

"Jareth…"

If only she could make that last move.

She didn't need to. Jareth walked slowly up to Sarah. With the gentlest of touches, he took hold of the neck of her dress. Sarah wondered if he'd kiss her. Jareth knew she was wearing nothing underneath, he'd instructed her not to. With one vicious tug, he ripped her dress straight down the front all the way to the floor, leaving Sarah completely naked in front of him.


End file.
